Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of John. We continue to move through the fourth gospel. We find ourselves in chapter 15 in the Upper Room Discourse. Jesus is instructing and preparing his disciples for the imminent departure of the Son of God, not only in terms of his death, but also his resurrection and then his ascension on high. Remember that he wants them, or His purpose for them is stated clearly in chapter 14 at verse 12, that they will do greater works, not in competition with their head and master, but as an extension of His power and glory from the right hand of the Father. So I want to read beginning in chapter 15 at verse 18, I'll read to chapter 16, verse 4, and then our particular focus this morning will be verses 18 to 21. So beginning in John 15, 18, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet 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 keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for the written word. We thank you for our Lord's words here in the upper room discourse. And we know it was to prepare his disciples for those greater works that they should leave this place, that gathering together empowered and enabled by the Spirit to go into the then known world with the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you for their example. We thank you for the Lord's blessing upon them. We thank you for the presence of the Holy Spirit today and the fact that you are causing your word to run swiftly and be glorified. We pray that more and more people would come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for the people of God that we would grow in our understanding of who He is, that we would live in light of that glorious gospel of our salvation. And even now, Lord, forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness. Cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Help us, by your Spirit, to receive this message, as certainly it's a difficulty, and on the one hand, since life is good, We are blessed. We have many good things here in the Western world. It's tough to see the hatred or the enmity of the world against us, but God give us wisdom concerning these things. Help us to think clearly and help us to receive our Lord's exhortations and admonitions such that we may indeed shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and give us that boldness and courage to hold forth your word of truth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in the previous section, specifically in verses 9 to 17, the emphasis is on love. Love for Christ and love for one another. Well, the direction changes now, and the emphasis is on hate, and specifically the world's hatred toward the people of God, and the reason or rationale for that hatred, because of Jesus Christ. And interestingly, in the preceding portion of the Upper Room Discourse, the primary emphasis is on Christ's relation to his people, his people's relation to Christ. Well, in this part and following, it's the believer and the world. How do we navigate? How do we function? How do we conduct ourselves as God's people in this present evil age? Well, again, in its original context, you will see the absolute necessity for this. In other words, as Jesus is encouraging his disciples, as he's instructing them, as he's teaching them in more detail the doctrine of the Trinity, he wants them as well to be prepared. That when you go out into the world and you preach the gospel in my name, don't expect a grand reception. Don't expect a red carpet treatment. Don't expect that everybody everywhere is going to be like, Wow, this is wonderful! No, you need to be prepared for the reality that the world is going to hate you. The reason why the world is going to hate you is because the world hates me. That's Jesus' message, essentially, as we find it in this particular section. So I think this is a great sort of blessed thing that our Savior does in terms of preparing His disciples. Oh yeah, follow me, go out and preach for me, and just always expect only good things. No, Christ does not deal with us in that way. He tells us the truth concerning the challenges with reference to Christian discipleship. Well, as we look at verses 18 to 21, I want to do so under two heads. First, the world's opposition to believers. in verses 18 and 19. And then secondly, the believer's likeness to Christ in verses 20 and 21. But let's look first at the world's opposition to believers there in verses 18 to 19. We have a declaration in verse 18 and then an explanation in verse 19. Note, with reference to the declaration in verse 18, he starts off first with sort of a supposition or a presupposition or an assumption. Notice verse 18a, if the world hates you. Now, we could possibly translate that as, since the world hates you, But up to this point in time, there had not been a lot of enmity directed toward these disciples, some to be sure, but it was mostly focused upon and targeted against the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus says, if the world hates you. Now, it's important for us to understand what he means by world in this particular instance. If you go back to the prologue, that means John 1, you'll notice three uses of the word world. Three uses of the word world in John 1, specifically at verse 10. It says that he was in the world. That must mean planet Earth. Jesus wasn't on Mercury. He wasn't on Mars. He was on the planet Earth. So Jesus was in the world and the world was made through him. Again, not just planet Earth, but the entire cosmos. If you look at verse three, all things were made through him. So Jesus is on planet Earth. Jesus is the agent by which all things, the world, had come into being. But then notice thirdly, and the world did not know him. So John the Apostle uses this language of world to speak of the Earth, to speak of the created order, but as well to speak in an ethical sense. The world is that which is opposed to God. You see a similar thing with reference to the word flesh. The Apostle Paul in Romans 3 says in verse 20, no flesh will be justified in the sight of God based on a work's righteousness. That must mean every man. So all flesh means all men, all women, all boys, all girls. But in Romans 4, he speaks of Abraham according to the flesh. So flesh there means something concerning ethnicity. And then later on, the apostle uses the word flesh to speak of that which is sensual or sinful. When he says in Romans 13, 14, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its loss. So we have a threefold use. There's connection to be sure, but when it comes to world here in John 15 at verse 18, he's talking about the non-Christian. He is talking about the unbeliever. And as we move through this particular section, he is talking specifically about the religious leadership in Israel. Note the language in chapter 16 at verse 2. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. It's going to be the first enemy of the Christian church in the book of Acts. It's going to be these men who confessed allegiance to Yahweh of Israel, but denied the Messiah sent by Yahweh of Israel. And so Jesus' argument is simple. If you reject the one sent by Yahweh, ergo, you reject Yahweh himself. And so that's the specific reference in the context. Now, in terms of the validity of this supposition, if the world hates you, again, John 14, 12, the disciples are tasked with going out and engaging in greater works, for one, that the world despises. The Apostle Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 1, when he talks about the proclamation of the cross. He talks about the foolishness of the cross. He says that the cross is a stumbling block or a scandal to unbelieving Jews. It's foolishness to unbelieving Gentiles. But to those of us who are being saved, Christ is both the wisdom and the power of God. And so this supposition is legit. This supposition is real. This supposition is going to be put into practice upon the ascension of our Lord and the dispatch of his disciples into the Roman Empire. They're going to meet with opposition. They're going to meet with persecution. They're going to meet with martyrdom. They're going to meet with all kinds of travail and all kinds of affliction. Why? because they are, in allegiance to Christ, going about His service, and the hateful world is going to oppose them. Jesus teaches this throughout His earthly ministry. The Apostle Paul teaches this in his written letters. He summarizes a statement in 2 Timothy 3. He says, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will what? They'll suffer persecution. That on the heels of verse 11, where he commends Timothy for following him in all of the afflictions that he had suffered. So Paul not only taught it, but Paul also experienced it. The apostle Peter taught this also. In fact, turn to 1 Peter chapter 4, where he assumes this as well, and he tells the people of God how they're supposed to respond. Again, he's simply imitating the Lord and the things that he had heard from the Lord. Notice in chapter 4 at verses 12 to 19. We won't read the whole section, but just parts of it. Notice in verse 12, he says, you're to expect trial. You're to expect difficulty. You're to expect hardship. And as we move through our context in John 15, he's going to explain why, but for the moment notice. Verse 12, I can't believe that this is actually happening to me. Why not? You read the Bible, don't you? You see how Paul was treated, haven't you? You see how the godly men in the Old Testament were treated? Do you have any affinity or familiarity, rather, with the history of the church? Have you heard of Polycarp? Have you heard of Foxe's Book of Martyrs? Have you heard? Have you listened? Have you looked around? How could you possibly, you know, be shocked that hardship or trials are coming your way? So Peter says expect it. Verses 13 and 14, he says you need to rejoice in it. We're going to see that same thing in John's gospel in chapter 15. Notice in verse 13, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory of God rests upon you. Notice as well in verses 15 to 18, he says, evaluate its cause. If you're a bad employee and you don't do your job, don't blame your boss on Christian persecution. You may happen to be a Christian, but if you're lazy, you're not being oppressed because you're a Christian. You're being chastened because you're lazy. Sometimes Christians do this, oh, they hate me because I'm a Christian. Maybe they just dislike you because you're lazy or because you're obnoxious or because you're a fool. That's kind of what Peter says in verses 15 to 18. Evaluate the cause. If you're suffering because you're a murderer, if you're suffering because you're a robber, if you're suffering because you're a busybody in other people's affairs, That's not Christian suffering, brethren. That's not a badge of honor. And then the fourth thing he says is to entrust yourself to God in the midst of these things. Notice in verse 19. Therefore, let us who suffer according to the will of God. It's a very key ingredient. Brethren, you're not a victim of circumstances. Oh, I can't believe this is always happening to me! If we confess that God, in Providence, governs all His creatures and all their actions, there ought to be no room in our lives for this victim-of-circumstance mentality. Well, it wasn't me, or all these bad things always happen to me. God's will is supreme. Whatever comes our way is governed by God according to His holy wisdom, power, glory, will, and it's for our good, ultimately. How many times do we cite Romans 8.28, and yet when it comes to difficulties in the providential scheme, we don't cite Romans 8.28. All things work together for good. It's easy when you get a raise, It's easy when you buy a new house. It's easy when your kids turn out okay. It's not so easy when the opposite obtains. Well, brethren, according to Peter, we need to entrust our soul to the God who does all things according to His will. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator. So going back to our particular passage, I think the emphasis throughout the Bible is simple. Believers in every age, based on their association with the living and the true God, will be hated in every age. It's just sort of formulaic. Again, if you're being obnoxious and horrible and evoking that hate, then shame on all of us who might do that. But there is a sense where if you identify with our Lord, there is going to be this enmity on the part of the world towards you, and that's what Jesus is teaching. Notice in the latter part of verse 18, back in John 15. So he says, if the world hates you, You know that it hated me before it hated you. It's intriguing because as you look in the Old Testament, you will notice that part and parcel of the Messiah's ministry on earth is going to involve suffering. All the way back in the original promise, the proto-gospel in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, you will bruise his heel. There's going to be a bruising of the heel with reference to the Messiah, this deliverer born of woman, who would come to save his people from their sins. We think of the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 53, and the suffering servant song of Yahweh. Man of sorrows, he was acquainted with grief. The chastisement for our peace was laid upon him. As well, you've got several statements in the book of Psalms where in the psalmist is a sufferer. Now brethren, that's Jesus. It's David in terms of pen to paper, the Spirit of God working through David in terms of pen to paper, but the subject matter is Christ. And there are several instances in John's Gospel where the Psalter is applied specifically to our Lord Jesus to show us that it's not primarily David's suffering that's in view in the Psalter, but it's our Lord Jesus' suffering that is being prophesied. in the Psalter. And again, those are scattered all throughout John's Gospel. Psalm 6 in John 12, Psalm 22 in John 19, Psalm 34 in John 19, Psalm 41 in John 13, Psalm 55 in John 17, and then notice in our context in verse 25, but this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. Now certainly David wasn't everybody's favorite when he lived, but notice it's about Jesus. This is Psalms 35, 19, 69, 4, 109, 3-5. It's what we call a conflation, the bringing together of several Old Testament texts to teach us something concerning Messiah. So the Lord Jesus applies the Psalter to Himself. So when He says, you know that it hated me before you. This was experienced in His public ministry. And here I'll just quote John Gill, because I think he summarizes it well. Actually, first let me quote John the Apostle. Look back at John 1.11. John 1.11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. The prologue already tells us that the Word who became flesh to dwell among us, to reveal the glory and the majesty of His Father, is not going to be received by the people group that He is sent to. He came to His own. Remember, Yahweh of Israel promised a Messiah. Yahweh of Israel promised the sending of a deliverer born of a woman who would crush the head of the serpent. And so we're told at the outset of the prologue that he's going to come to his own and his own is not going to receive him. That doesn't mean every single one. If you look at these particular apostles, these men, they were of that ethnicity, they were of that people group. But with reference to the gospel record, listen to Gil. which words are an appeal of Christ to his apostles for the usage he had met with from the wicked and unbelieving world of the Jews. How they had expressed their hatred, not only by words, calling him a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a sinner, a Samaritan, a madman, one that had a devil, yea, Beelzebub himself, but by deeds. taking up stones to stone him more than once, leading him to the brow of a hill in order to cast him down headlong, consulting by various means to take away his life, as Herod did in his very infancy. When Isaiah writes he's a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he's not faking that. You know, it hurts to be called names, doesn't it? You know, somebody calls you whatever. Do you ever focus on, yeah, he was called a Samaritan, which was very disparaging. A winebibber and a glutton. He was called Beelzebub, the very Lord of Flies, the demon, Satan himself. All these things were hurled at our blessed Savior, who had nothing deserving of that. Remember, He's wholly harmless and undefiled. He's not actually Beelzebub. He's not actually a Samaritan. He's not actually a winebibber and a glutton. They just hurl these insults at Him. And of course, Herod, in the infancy of our blessed Savior, but in the Passion Week that this is building up in terms of the culmination and crucifixion and resurrection, He came to his own and his own received him not. That is most obvious at the end of this week here in the gospel record, when they say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. When the Sanhedrin smacks him around and spits upon him. When he's sent over to Pilate to be tried in this kangaroo court, and Pilate is too much of a gutless wonder to carry out his job, and he basically just delivers him up to the mob. So all these things were true with reference to our Savior. So if the world hates you, know that it hated me first, is what Jesus says. And as well, with reference to the then explanation, look at verse 19. So if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. So look at the believer's relation to the world. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Now these propositions are very important. Parents, you can ask your children what a preposition is when you get home and have lunch. This of language, this in language, this from language. What is Jesus talking about? Well, Jesus is saying, in essence, that we are from the world. There was one time that we were of it. We are certainly in the world, in the high priestly prayer, he doesn't pray that they be taken out of the world, but that they be given grace, strength, wisdom, and spirit to navigate in the world. So the believer is from the world and in the world, but he's not of the world, and verse 19 is gonna go on to explain this. This of the world has the idea of participation along with that. Being of like kind. Like, likes, like. Right? Like, likes, like. We tend to gravitate to those things that we like. If you don't like Brussels sprouts, you don't tend to gravitate toward Brussels sprouts. You like a nice, big, juicy steak, you tend to gravitate to that nice, big, juicy steak. Like, likes, like. So if you are of the world, is what Jesus is saying, they love you. You'd just be one of the gang. You'd be part of the club. You'd be amongst the team. So the believer, when of the world, was loved by the world, but now that the believer has a different orientation, now that the believer looks to Jesus as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, the world no longer has any time for you. The world no longer looks upon you as one of its own. In the language of Solomon, an unjust man is an abomination to the righteous. and he who is upright in the way is an abomination of the wicked. That's an obviously true statement. An unjust man is an abomination of the righteous. I hope you have that expression from time to time. When you see the goings on in this present evil age, you abominate the abortionist, or you abominate the legislature that sanctions abortion. You abominate those who engage in euthanasia, or in the sexual perversion that involves child mutilation. Brethren, it is right and appropriate to abominate that kind of conduct. And so he says, an unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. That doesn't make as much sense. Why are the righteous hated? I mean, they pay their taxes, they keep their grass cut, they don't foment revolution. They're pretty decent people. But it's an affront and an offense to the godless. As well, that was Proverbs 29.27. Proverbs 29.10, the bloodthirsty hate the blameless, but the upright seek his well-being. The bloodthirsty hate the blameless. If you hate righteous people and you love the unrighteous, may I encourage you to repent, as we were reminded by Mark's scripture reading there in Mark? When the Baptist comes along to Herod, and I see it in my mind's eye when he rebukes him for all the unlawful things that he had done, specifically laying with your brother's wife. Remember, these are summary statements. These are, you know, compact sentences that convey to us what happened. But again, in my mind's eye, I've got John Knox leaning over the pulpit with his finger in the face of the queen or king. The Baptist called upon him to repent. Why? Because he was a lawless man. He was a godless man. He was a rebellious man. He had broken that law. He had transgressed it. He had lacked conformity unto it. So what's the emphasis? Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you find yourself this morning saying, man, I really hate these do-gooder Christians. I really hate the upright. But man, I just, I celebrate the various social engineers of our age that are orchestrating the destruction of society. May God continue to bless that. Repent, forsake that wickedness, and flee to the Savior. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, because there is forgiveness with Him that He may be feared. Know the joy of everlasting life, confessing faith in Him. That is the most blessed thing of all. So if your mindset is to hate the right and love the unright, then come to the Savior to get your mind oriented and have that mind renewed or transformed rather by the renewing through the Word of God. So back to the text. Notice verse 19 at the beginning, the believers' relation to the world. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Now notice the believers' election by God. So he's explaining now how it is that they are no longer of the world. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, don't pat yourself on the back here, brothers. Don't congratulate yourself here, brothers. Don't say, well, you know, I've made the great decision. I have decided to follow Jesus and extricate myself from an of-the-world state. No, look at what he says, but I chose you out of the world. How does one extricate him or herself from an of-ness to this world, a connection to and a participation with? It's by God's sovereign grace. It's to apostleship, as we've seen in this particular context, but to salvation. It's the Ephesians 1, where the apostle says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. love having predestinated us onto adoption as sons. So Jesus reminds them they're no longer of the world because of the grace of God. They're no longer participants in this godless world system, not owing to their wisdom or their decisions, but owing to the goodness of God Most High and His will. And then notice the status now that they, I don't want to say enjoy, but enjoy with reference to the world. So at the end of verse 19, therefore the world hates you. It's probably a good corrective too, you know, to the, oh, nobody ever loved me. Nobody cares about me. I go to these places and I preach and they all despise me. It's a good reminder. I mean, it may be you personally, but it's probably not. That was sad and pathetic, but sorry. It could be me personally. I understand that tendency all too well. But it's Christ. I think that's a good help for us, brethren. I don't want to witness to people because they hate me. They hate Christ. Yeah, they hate you too, but it's because you're in Christ. Don't take everything personally. In fact, Cyril has this statement concerning ministers in specific, but then in general. Basically, he says, if you get bent out of shape from every verbal insult, If you're so delicate, I'm kind of channeling Cyril here in more modern verbiage. If you're so delicate that you can't handle a bit of verbal insult, you're in the wrong sport, man. What are we called in scripture? We're just saying, you know, this fight the good fight motif, this press on, this steadfastness, this serving the master. There's gonna be some blood along the way, and I'm not talking physically, though that may happen, but I'm talking about some things that you gotta have a thick skin about. It's probably really not you in the lunchroom that they despise. It's that you bowed your head and confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We got to be able to take a little bit. We got to be able to deal with a bit of insult. We can't be these cancel culture kind of people that want to remove our way from everybody who ever says anything to us that is untoward. Again, Christianity is not a spectator sport. You're going to go into that ring, and you're going to start laying down the truth as it is in Jesus. Expect a blow or two. Expect opposition. Expect a fight. Expect them to do things that they did to the Savior, because that's precisely what we see in the gospel records. Expect to see what we see in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 6. Those men that tried to debate with Stephen. Stephen bested them. He was filled with wisdom in the spirit, and he bested them in verbal argument. So what did they have recourse to? Well, let's deliver him up to the Sanhedrin, accuse him of blasphemy, so they'll dispatch him. That's what they did to Holy Stephen? That's how they treated that godly man? Well, if they did it to Jesus, why would we think that Stephen is going to be exempt? If they did it to Jesus and Stephen, then why should we think we're going to be exempt? You see the point? Jesus is saying, if the world hates you, know that it first hated me. Don't be shocked. Don't be surprised. In the language of 1 Peter 4.12, expect it. Don't just say, I can't believe that these horrible things would happen to such a nice guy like me. So with reference to this, I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The world is seen in false religion. Jesus is gonna make that abundantly clear, specifically at the end of verse 21. It says, because they do not know Him who sent me, you see false religion in verse 2 of chapter 16, they're going to put you out of synagogues. They're going to do this because they think they're rendering service to God. That's how topsy-turvy their world is. They're actually engaged in murder and think that somehow this is for God. But it's also seen in government. Now, brethren, I'm not going to get all political here, but if you go to prayer meeting once in a while and you hear the voice of the martyrs, yes, false religion is destroying the people of God in various countries. But more often than not, lately, it's bad government. Which, I would argue, this ain't the place for it. At least one particular form of government, communism, is religious in nature. It is an anti-Christ, anti-God system of thought that holds in contempt those things instituted by God. It's not just a, oh, I prefer this kind of government. These are God-hating rebels that want to destroy. Sorry, but the government at times takes their position against the Lord and against His Christ. Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2. The psalmist there isn't condemning the Muslims. That's not meaning he's affirming them. You're going to say, well, they weren't Muslims then. Follow the train of thought. He's not going after Jehovah's Witnesses there. He's not going after Mormon. He's going after the kings of the earth, the rulers of this age that take their stand together against Yahweh and against his Christ. And they say, in essence, we will not have this one to rule over us. So Jesus in his kindness is preparing the disciples to go into a hostile world. This is a most blessed Savior. He doesn't send them out with some Pollyanna vision that everybody's always going to only treat you well. That brings us then to the believers likeness to Christ in verses 20 and 21. There's a principle that he gives in verse 20a, then he draws from that an implication in the rest of verse 20, and then at least in this subsection brings a conclusion to bear in verse 21. But note the principle in verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you. Now, before we get to the word that he said to them, let's just hear that word for a moment. Remember What does Jesus assume? I know this is going to seem outlandish, but he assumes that his people listen to him. He assumes that his people remember what he says. He has said this little proverb, analogy that he's going to give in the next part. But I think the principle here is that we need to remember. We need to remember the word of God so that we don't lose our minds. We need to remember the word of God so that we can navigate correctly when it comes to any kind of trial, hardship, affliction, persecution, or oppression. We have to think like Peter tells us to think in 1 Peter 4, 12, that you've got to expect it. It's the price of doing business in a world that's in opposition to God Most High and His Christ. If you live in a Psalm 2, 1, and 2 world, you've got to expect a little bit of negative press when it comes to you and your profession of faith. So the Lord Jesus there tells them, remember the word that I spoke to you. And I would suggest that with reference to the specific audience, I think we can conclude or deduce from this a couple of things, not for all of us as Christians, but for ministers of the gospel. These guys are. These men are. ministers of the gospel. They're going to go out into a hostile world, and they're going to preach the word. So the idea of remember assumes that we, A, know it, and B, can recall it. So what do you think I'm going to say here? Read your Bibles. Read your Bibles. That's crucial. That goes without saying. We've had births of babies over the last little while, and it's fantastic. Babies are wonderful. The heathen are killing them, and God, in his grace, is blessing us with many of them. What does a baby do when it comes out? It breathes, right? It's the natural reflex. It's what it does, and then give it a couple of minutes, and what does it do next? It cries, and then it eats. For the believer that doesn't read his Bible, you're kind of unnatural, because believers gravitate to Scripture. In fact, we'll see this in a moment. If you drop down to the middle of the verse, If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. Jesus says there is an identifiable character of his disciples. There is an identifying characteristic of those who are in Christ, those who are not of the world. They are those who keep the word, which again assumes that you've got it in your head, that you've hidden it in your heart and that you've got it to draw upon and to remember. But in terms of the ministry, the minister who attempts to please the world is going to displease God. There's no, well, you know, I can kind of navigate between the two. No, it's either God or the world. The minister who pleases God, how do you think the world's gonna respond? Not happy. They're not gonna like that. They're gonna be opposed to that. They're gonna despise that. They may lie about you. They may misrepresent you. They may do all kinds of nasty things to try to discredit you, but their reception and their happiness and their joy for your ministry, it's not gonna happen. In fact, turn to 2 Timothy 2, where I think we see a paradigm based on passages like we have here in the Upper Room Discourse with reference to gospel ministry. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, which is a series of commands to Timothy on how to conduct himself as a minister. 10 of them. If you look at verse 1, you've got to be strong. Verse 2, commit these. Verse 3, must endure. Verse 7, consider. Verse 8, remember. Verse 14, remind. Verse 15, be diligent. Verse 16, but shun. Verse 22, flee. Verse 23, avoid. Boy, Paul, you're getting pretty intrusive on how this man's supposed to conduct his ministry, because there's only one proper way to conduct ministry. It's to court God's favor. And that's the emphasis there, specifically in verse 15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God. A worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God. That's the focus for the gospel ministry. Not be diligent to present yourself approved to the congregation. I'm not saying I should come, or anybody should come, or Cam should come and try to repel the congregation. That's not good either, but the idea behind gospel ministry is a ministry that is approved by God. When we court the world's favor, we receive God's disfavor. This is a very scary subject in light of the things that is going on in the name of the church or in the name of the professing church. We're not to allow, we're not to permit breaches of God's holy law. The seventh commandment abides The Seventh Commandment forbids all unlawful intercourse between human beings. The Seventh Commandment certainly, of a truth, bans the whole pride movement. We're not to capitulate to that, to try to get the favor of the world. No. That's just wrongheaded. It is misguided. So back to our text, he reminds them, but then he gives the analogy in verse 20. He says, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. He says this to them in John 13, 16, this master-servant analogy. He does it as well in Matthew 10, in the missionary journey that the disciples are sent out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And you know the implication that he draws from that section that is very similar in nature. You're going to go, in fact, turn there, Matthew 10. Matthew chapter 10, same analogy, the master and the servant. Master and servant. Here, disciple, teacher, same story. Pretty simple principle. If you're of the world, the world would love you. But that you're from the world, and now you're my servant, then ergo, the world is going to despise you because they despise the master. It's a simple analogy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort of figure it out. But notice in a similar context, at least in terms of emphasis, Verse 24, Matthew 10, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household? Now notice, therefore do not fear them. See, by way of preparation, by way of instruction to His disciples, the Lord is getting them ready for combat. The Lord is prepping them for what they're going to most certainly meet when they go out into the world with His gospel. This is a declaration to encourage the people of God as well. In light of that 2 Timothy and in light of passages like these, I've often thought that if there's never been, never is, and never will be any kind of persecution in your life for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I don't have a crystal ball or the mind of a prophet, but it would concern me if all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. I mean, at least at some point, somebody somewhere should be a tiny bit unhappy with you because of your commitment to Jesus. You've heard the old adage, if you were charged and brought to court for the crime of Christianity, would there be enough evidence to convict you? would they be able to say, and on this occasion this, and I'm not saying works right. I'm just saying if you live the way that God calls us to live in this present evil world, somebody somewhere is going to raise an eyebrow at you. They're going to say, man, you're weird or whatever it is. So just think about that. I'm not trying to bind anybody's conscience. Go out tomorrow and be a jerk and get somebody to hate you. And then you've rang the bell and you've been persecuted now. I don't mean that. But this should encourage the disciples in the midst of it. This should embolden the disciples. Therefore, do not fear them. And I would suggest this continues for the disciples. This is a specific reference to the apostles as they are gathered before Jesus so that they can go into the then known world. But it's abiding. Paul II Timothy 3.12 tells us it's abiding. This is a reality. But there is this exception. He came to his own and his own received him not, but some did. It's like Paul in 1 Corinthians, not many wise, not many noble, but some wise, some noble. So in the midst of these bleak statements, there's this hopeful reminder. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Verse 20, if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. Isn't that good news? See, on the one hand, he's telling them, you're going to go out into the arena. You're going to probably take a few blows. I'm not going to lie to you. You're going to get hurt at some level, some way along the way, or somewhere along the way. But it's not a fool's errand. Just as Jesus chose them out of the world, God has chosen a great multitude that no man can number, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. It's where you see the wisdom of our Lord and His teaching. On the one hand, prepare them, but on the other hand, don't sideline them through discouragement and despondency and sorrow and hardship and heartache and woe. No. He's realistic. Yeah, there's going to be trouble, but there's going to be positive blessing. There's going to be a church gathered here on earth, which is going to reflect what goes on in heaven. And one day when I consummate it all, that church militant will then be the church triumphant and be in the presence of God Almighty, world without end. Amen. So on the one hand, be real, but on the other hand, make sure they understand that there's going to be success. There's going to be victory. There's going to be those who keep his word. The important thing here is to see that the Lord indicates that it is the rejection or reception of the word that is the identifying factor. And I would suggest the Bible rightly interpreted and believed. A lot of people hold the Bible up that don't get the interpretation right. The devil quotes the Bible in Matthew 4 when he tempts Jesus. That doesn't mean that's a good use of the Bible. So the Bible rightly interpreted and believed on is the identifying characteristic of the people of God. They're in the world, but they're not of it. Why? Because they're so much better? No, it's because of the things believed concerning Jesus Christ, concerning salvation and righteousness and by God's spirit living in light of those things, day in, day out, seeking to be faithful workers, seeking to be faithful in their families, seeking to be faithful in their churches, seeking to be faithful in their societies. That's the ebb and flow of the Christian life. It isn't the extraordinary. It's the ordinary done by believing the gospel and being empowered by the Holy Spirit. Well, brethren, we're going to conclude there. We'll pick up verse 21 next week. I know that's kind of an odd place to break it, but I don't want to zip through the things that I think need to be said with reference to verse 21. But by way of conclusion, do not underestimate the enmity of the world. Do not underestimate the enmity or hatred of the world for the people of God. Again, I would invite you to prayer meeting. It's nice to take that tour along the various continents of the world and listen to what's going on in the various countries. Listen to what's going on in the various nations. To listen how the people of God, for just trying to live ordinary Christian lives as people and as families and as workers, businessmen, whatever, are destroyed, are imprisoned, are sentenced to death? At some level, brethren, you gotta ask yourself, what's happening there? Well, this is what's happening. If the world hates you, know that it first hated me. If we walk in the footsteps of our blessed Savior, enabled by the Spirit to do so, there will be some enmity. There will be some hardship. There will be some trial and tribulation and difficulty. The world persecutes Christ and his people. Jonathan Edwards famously said, and I suspect a lot of others have said it. I know I've quoted that particular quote favorably before. Martyrdom is basically, the reality of martyrdom is because men can't get to God, they'll kill his people. On the one hand, that's true. But on the other hand, Jesus so closely identifies with his people. head, body, imagery, that when Jesus comes to Saul of Damascus, or Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, what does Saul say? Who are you, Lord? What's Jesus say? I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. Wow. Jesus so identifies with his people Because it wasn't physically or Jesus in his incarnate glory standing there before Paul getting the strong arm of the law. It was his people. So they hate us. It reflects their hatred for Jesus. And if they hate Jesus, and we by the Spirit are kind of like Jesus, I realize we're not really like him, but we may be kind of like him once in a while, it's going to follow they're gonna hate us. Don't be surprised. Don't be, I can't believe it. Why not? Do you not read? Have you not read? Have you not listened to the Master? Have you not seen the servants of the Master in the first century? Have you not thought through Christian martyrdom? So when it comes to this reality, the world rejects the Word of Christ. They reject the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments. They reject Jesus, and thus reject the One who sent Jesus, which is God the Father. So they're at enmity with God. They rage against God. They despise his Christ. They do everything they can to evade his government. So when it comes to the people of God, yeah, they're disposable. They are those who can be dispatched. And then in terms of the encouragement that he gives to the disciples, the disciple is to remember the words of the Lord Jesus and his apostles. This is not an isolated theme in scripture. I thought about it before this sermon. This is a tough sermon to preach in the Western world because we got a good life. Costco, Walmart, running water, food, shelter, clothing. Hard to convince people that are living in the lap of luxury that it's a war out there. But it doesn't look like a war. It doesn't feel like a war. I'm not bloodied like I'd be if I was in war. Brethren, the world hates Jesus. The world hates the Father who sent him. Therefore, the world hates us. And if it is the case that we are bloodied, beaten, broken, bruised, battered, whatever it is that is going to happen physically, at least spiritually, we need to understand these things and be prepared for it. As well, the disciple is to understand that this underscores solidarity with the Savior, and it should produce joy. Remember that scene in Acts chapter 5 when the Sanhedrin, the religious and legal governing council of Israel, basically kidnaps apostles, takes them and beats them. I mean, just so many laws are broken in this conduct. You just can't do that. The Roman government in the book of Acts is so much better in terms of treating the Christian church than were the unbelieving Jews. So, when they get beaten, when their backs are open for the cause of Jesus Christ, it says they departed from there rejoicing. I'd be calling my lawyer, Marty, I just got abducted. They opened my back. I would do it for a lot less. I'm not kidding. If the RCMP looked at me odd on the street, I'd go, Marty, I'm getting dirty looks. They went out and rejoiced, or rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. That's the kind of Christianity that Jesus is preaching to these men. And just to finalize this thought, Christ is worth it. They weren't begrudgingly doing these things. Oh, we gotta go serve the master. Oh, we gotta go witness and testify. They went out rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. His name is glorious. His name is wondrous. He says later, for my name's sake. Brethren, whatever they throw at us, if it's for his name's sake, it is altogether worth it. This Christ is altogether lovely. He is chief among 10,000. And for us, the people of God, bless Him that though we were of the world, He chose us out of it. So that now while in it, we're not of it. And as a result, it's gonna raise some eyebrows from people that are committed against God and His Christ and us. And if you're not a believer, may I commend to you faith in the Lord Jesus coming to him because he is worth believing in for salvation. He's worth living for, even if it means your back being opened up by the lash. He's worth going to prison for. He's worth martyrdom for. That's the history of the church. People don't go to their deaths for Jesus grudgingly. They don't go there saying, man, I wish I had it all over to do again. No, they die well. The people of God in that battle season, they die well. Read of the Covenanters, read of the Huguenot, read of the history of the Christian church. One in history has said, our people die well. They die well because they live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank you very much for our Lord's clear teaching here in John 15. We thank you that he doesn't lie to us, he doesn't gaslight us, he doesn't fake it. He tells us the truth that in this world there will be tribulation, but he always encourages us to be of good cheer knowing that he has overcome the world. I pray that you would encourage us, that you would strengthen us, help us to think clearly, help us to remember the words spoken by our Lord and his apostles concerning these principles. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we'll stand and close by singing the doxology, page 568 in our hymn books. Praise to our triune God. O praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him, our God, he heav'nly host. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Please be seated for a brief time of meditation.