Distinguishable by Love: The Mark of the Christian

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:04:58] It is a fun morning. It's cool, it's early, and it rained. Hallelujah. It's like the trifecta of fun there. So welcome. We're really glad that you're here. We want to thank you for coming online as well, those of you joining us in that way. We are praying that God is doing amazing things this morning beyond what we've already experienced, and we want to celebrate that. So I want to remind you to sign in on the attendance pads. Those are the little red notebooks in the back of the pew.
[00:05:28] row so that everyone can get signed in. And then I wanted to make a few announcements. One is for those of you that are participating in the Wednesday night Bible studies, the big, all the
[00:05:41] classes will not be offered this week. It is spring break for those of you that are not in connection with the school rhythms. It's spring break, so we will not be having our usual Wednesday night
[00:05:51] classes. However, if you're in Pastor Bob's class, he's going to keep going. So you won't have snack supper, so you will need to eat in advance. But anyway, that's the caveat. Two, I wanted to tell
[00:06:04] you that one of the things that's not in the bulletin that you can participate in is the prayer vigil for our Kairos prison ministry. They're getting ready to do another Kairos walk and they are looking for people of prayer to come alongside them, sign up for a time or a date to
[00:06:20] pray for that that walk it's at the connection center please join in with that it's it is an amazing ministry and prayer is powerful um and then lastly uh oh not lastly two things speaking
[00:06:33] of prayer if you have not already gotten your um quarterly mission prayer guide we are doing local local focus this month um if you would pick that up at the connection center or i will stand out
[00:06:45] in the middle of the foyer make sure you have one it is broken down by each week so we are on week two right now. We're going to be praying for our home-based mission in the area, and we would love
[00:06:55] to be a church of prayer. This should be a house of prayer, right? So this is a guided effort for this quarter, and we would love for you to be a part of that. So pick up your flyer. Now, the last
[00:07:06] thing I want to announce, I'm going to start with a video, so please turn your attention to the video.
[00:07:56] So we recently, what, last July, had a huge event of disaster with the flooding in Kerrville, and we had many of you sign up to participate being a responder to that however to actually go at the
[00:08:08] time of the disaster requires more preparation and training and credentialing we are planning to form a disaster response team from northwest hills and that would be information provided at a meeting coming up on march 22nd if you signed up to participate when curvil happened we want
[00:08:28] to invite you to be a part of this meeting and this team, but we want you to sign up at the Connection Center so that we know who is interested and then be here on the 22nd to get all the
[00:08:37] details. I will tell you that responding to a disaster, there are many ways you can serve.
[00:08:42] There's mucking out houses after floods and fire. There is cook teams, serving teams like that.
[00:08:48] There is laundry teams. There's chainsaw teams. There's lots of ways to get involved, and we want to be able to give you all the information you need so that we can be prepared to actually go
[00:08:59] when it happens. So if you want to be part of that, sign up and let us know. And with that, let's stand. Let's go ahead and stand and do our call to worship. Standing is good. You've
[00:09:10] been sitting in long enough. All you with faith in the Lord Almighty fan into flame the gift of God For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
[00:09:28] We are not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but by His power are ready to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
[00:09:37] For He has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done, but because of His grace.
[00:09:46] that grace is revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord. He has destroyed death and has brought immortality to life through the gospel. Therefore should we suffer it is not to our shame for we know whom
[00:10:04] we have believed and he will guard what we have entrusted to him until the great day of the Lord comes. With the Lord at our right hand, we will not be shaken, for he has promised to be with us
[00:10:20] always, till the very end of the age. Praise be to the Lord Almighty. If you guys want to go ahead

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:10:28] and have a seat, we're going to have another offering with our choir. If you would begin

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:14:46] making your way to your pew, we'll open in prayer. Thank you. Please join me in prayer.
[00:15:00] lord god we thank you for who you are we thank you for what you've done what you are currently doing in our lives father this time is yours i pray you would reveal yourself in a mighty way
[00:15:18] father may every element of this service glorify you and only you in jesus name amen

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:15:29] Come to the world that never runs dry. Drink of the water. Come and thirst no more.
[00:16:11] All you sinners, come find His mercy. Come to the table. He will satisfy.
[00:16:19] Taste of His goodness. Find what you're looking for.
[00:16:24] For God so loved the world that he gave us.
[00:16:32] He's the one who saved us.
[00:16:37] Whoever believes in him will live forever.
[00:17:06] Predictions of the cross, Jesus is waiting there.
[00:17:15] With open arms, sing his arms.
[00:17:20] For God so loved us.
[00:17:25] He's the one who believes in him.
[00:17:31] Now praise God from whom the saints flow. Praise Him for the prayers of His love. Praise God from whom the saints flow. To save ever all your failures, your addictions. Come lay them down at the foot of the cross. Jesus is waiting, God's soul of the world. Amen.
[00:19:57] This time I'd like to ask our short-term mission team

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:28:44] to all come forward to the altar.
[00:28:46] We want to pray for you at both services.
[00:28:49] We've already prayed for you.
[00:28:50] One want to pray for you at another.
[00:28:52] And if you'd like to come and place hands on them and join us in prayer, you're invited to do that.
[00:28:56] Hey, look, you can tell who they are because they're all dressed in the same shirt.
[00:29:01] Funny how that works out.
[00:29:15] Let us pray.
[00:29:19] Heavenly Father, we lift up to you the men and the women who in this next week are giving of their time, their strength, and their effort to work in small ways to build your kingdom
[00:29:31] here on earth and in San Antonio.
[00:29:34] We ask that you would go with each and every one of them, that you would be present with them to protect them from any harm or injury, that you'd keep them safe, that you'd help them to use tools wisely
[00:29:46] and without any problems.
[00:29:49] And we pray even more than that, that you would give them words to say and wisdom to listen and opportunities to share their faith outwardly even as they share it implicitly with the work they do be with every one of them we
[00:30:05] pray be with their families who will miss them while they're not home protect them lord and be with the people who are on the support team who will be providing meals and other assistance all
[00:30:15] along the way we ask the lord that you would bless this team and not only this team but all your servants around the world who give their life and their strength serving you this we pray in
[00:30:28] Jesus's name, amen. As everybody finds their seats, let me just mention we have two prayer requests that have both been repeated. Long-term members of our church, Beth Lovell and Howard Scott, as you know, continue to have health struggles. Beth has had her fourth surgery on
[00:31:02] her knee and George was called away from Sunday school. Her knee was bleeding this morning and she may have to go to the hospital. Just pray that that's nothing. And Howard Scott is having breathing problems and he may be taken to the VA hospital this morning. So let us
[00:31:21] pray for them and for many other things as we go to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are with us. We thank you that you have given us a hope in Jesus Christ that nothing can
[00:31:41] take away from us. And we ask you to forgive us for all the times when we forget that hope, when we ignore your promises, when we move on without having thought about all that you've
[00:32:02] done for us. Lord, send your Holy Spirit on us today. Speak to each of our hearts.
[00:32:10] call each of us to know you Lord in stronger and deeper ways where we might be confused and have questions we pray that you would lead us into truth where we may be struggling with temptation and sin
[00:32:31] we pray that you would sanctify us and lead us into holiness where we carry wounds that cut into our souls deeply we pray that you would heal us and where we are weak.
[00:32:49] We pray that you would make us strong, that we might not be Christians in name only, but Christians in word and deed, in spirit and in truth.
[00:33:04] And Lord, as we pray these things and as we pray for our mission team that is going out, we are mindful and we are grateful for the fact that you are bigger than we are,
[00:33:16] that your church is bigger than any one church that you have servants all around the world who strive to serve you and we ask that you would be with these men and women now whatever their circumstances
[00:33:30] be they easy or hard help them Lord help us all to stand for what is right and to be salt and light and Lord especially today we do pray for what is happening in Iran
[00:33:49] We do pray for peace among the nations, but we pray that as much as it is possible in this fallen world that you would bring your peace to Iran.
[00:33:59] And so we pray for the Iranian people, so many of whom long for something better.
[00:34:07] We pray as much as it is possible you would grant them stability and freedom and that your hand would be in the government that will come next.
[00:34:24] And finally, Lord, we do lift up the requests that have been given.
[00:34:27] We pray for Howard Scott.
[00:34:30] Be with he in Concordia.
[00:34:34] And help Howard's breathing to stabilize.
[00:34:38] And be with Beth Lovell.
[00:34:40] She's had four operations on that same knee.
[00:34:44] We pray that this one would take.
[00:34:48] And that she would be well.
[00:34:49] And all these things we pray of you, Lord, in the name of Jesus.
[00:34:54] Who taught us that we should pray, saying, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread
[00:35:11] and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
[00:35:25] Amen And now at this time, I've got to tell you, Pastor Stephanie preached a powerful sermon at the first service, but being Daylight Savings Time, I think I was fully aware of like two-thirds of it.
[00:35:38] It wasn't your fault.
[00:35:39] So I'd like to hear you again, but actually our children, if they would follow Miss Faith back, we're going to go to Children's Church, and I'm their teacher today, yes.
[00:35:50] And as you think about me going out to, yes, lead Children's Church, we have an announcement coming up about something else related to children's ministry.

[00:36:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:36:08] Hey guys. Cool. My name is Caitlin. This is Rochelle. And we're going to talk to you about something that you may, may not have heard of called our Let's Play campaign. So can I tell
[00:36:22] you a story? Thank you. So I've wanted to say that for a while, so I'm glad I got the opportunity.
[00:36:29] But 25 years ago, we had two beautiful play structures installed outside in our playground area and many of you certainly some of you have gotten to enjoy that playground structure have gotten to have wonderful memories there and if you haven't you probably know someone namely those
[00:36:44] children that just left and when we put this in next slide yeah and when we put this in we knew that this playground had a life and that life was 20 years so it has served our children well
[00:36:59] it is wonderful but it does need a new life and so the trustees were contacted to figure out what our options were for our beautiful playground area. So we considered trying to repair the system
[00:37:09] and turns out it's just as expensive or almost as expensive to repair as it is just to replace everything. So we ended up talking to I think with 11 different companies and we brought the coach
[00:37:21] the trustees and we voted and I think we have a really good option. So and these are pictures of

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:37:31] our large structure which is going to service the kids that are 2 to 12 years old. This is the structure that is closest to the road next to the fence line and so as you can see it's got
[00:37:45] several slides and things like that but it also has the shade because of our South Texas sun and then our smaller structure is in the middle and that will service our kids that are ages two to
[00:37:58] five and so that is why we are trying to raise money for two because they serve as two different age groups, and we can have more kids on the playground at the same time. So we wanted to do
[00:38:11] a cost breakdown for you guys, because when you really think about a campaign goal of $150,000, you're like, what? Why? And so Playgrounds has been mine and Caitlin's and our husband's life since September. We have done so much research. We know way more about Playgrounds than we thought
[00:38:29] we would ever know in our entire life and so we have the breakdown on the screen for you it's also in your bulletin but just the two structures alone are $65,000 and that is with a discount
[00:38:43] and then of course you have shipping we have to take out what's there you know we need to have the equipment installed we need the new rubber pour in place which is the blue part and so our
[00:38:55] campaign goal is $150,000 to replace our playground. At this time, we have secured $81,000 in funds. So yes, thank you guys so much for your generosity. But we still need you and our kids need you as our goal is $150,000 so that we can replace both structures. And so if you guys
[00:39:20] feel the tug at your heart. You can donate at the table in the Narthex. You can put it in the offering plate. There is a QR code. You can also do it on the website. But we can't even get started
[00:39:33] until we have $150,000 because that's what the contract is for this structure. So we hope that you guys will continue to support us in this. And more important, our kiddos that play out there and show them that Jesus does love them
[00:39:50] and that they will get their playground.
[00:39:52] So thank you, guys.

[00:39:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:39:54] If you would now stand to profess your faith together as the body of Christ with the Apostles' Creed.
[00:40:10] I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[00:40:15] I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died and was buried he descended to the dead
[00:40:32] on the third day he rose again he ascended into heaven is seated at the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead I believe in the Holy Spirit
[00:40:47] the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:41:06] Well, when the Civil War broke out in 1861, there was chaos on the battlefield. Now, I'm not just talking about the fact that there were terrible instances of families divided, fighting each other on either side. I'm not even talking about the horrible heartbreak of war itself, but I'm talking
[00:41:31] about another kind of chaos, one that came from something as simple as clothing. In the beginning of that war, both the soldiers of the North, the Union, and the soldiers of the South, the Confederacy, started off wearing the same standard issue uniform of the U.S. Army. As you can imagine,
[00:41:56] this led to incredible confusion. How could you tell who was an ally and who was an enemy?
[00:42:05] And so friendly fire was pretty common in that first year of the war. And people you thought were reinforcements coming to help you sometimes turned out to be the very troops you were supposed to be fighting. Can you imagine standing there? Standing there in the smoke of gunpowder,
[00:42:24] and the barrage of cannon blasts, not knowing if the person running straight for you with a rifle and a bayonet was a friend or a foe. Not surprisingly, the Confederacy quickly decided they needed to come up with their own uniforms, something to distinguish them from the North,
[00:42:43] and eventually they came up with the familiar gray uniform. But as time went on and money and resources became scarce in the south they often had to scavenge union uniforms bleaching them or dying them or even turning them inside out anything to make them look different so they
[00:43:03] wouldn't be mistaken for the enemy because there was an absolute need to know what side you were on it was a matter of life and death now i'm not making any particular claim about that war
[00:43:18] itself here today. But I am pointing out that we can take a lesson from that part of history.
[00:43:25] Because we too, whether we like it or not, are in the midst of a war. We are in the midst of a war for souls. And there should be no confusion on our battlefield. Because the Christians should be
[00:43:40] distinguishable from the rest of the world. Because our uniform is Christ himself. If we look like the rest of the world they're not going to recognize us as the enemy but if we look different if we
[00:43:54] act different if we are different they will hate us because they hate our commander Jesus as Jesus will say today the servant is not greater than his master in other words if they hate the
[00:44:12] general they're going to hate his infantrymen and so that is what Jesus talks about today he has driven home in the last few chapters that the disciples are to love to love him to love the
[00:44:27] father to love one another even at the cost of their own lives and in fact he says the mark the insignia of a christian of a disciple is love he says by this everyone will know that you are my
[00:44:45] disciples if you love one another. But in contrast, he says, the mark of the world will be hatred.
[00:44:57] So that's what we look at today. What do we do when the world hates us? We'll look at some words of Jesus, and then we'll explore that question in some practical ways. But first, let's pray
[00:45:12] together. Dear Lord, this is not an easy passage for us today, but you include it in your words to your disciples because it was very necessary for them to hear, and we believe that it is very
[00:45:28] necessary for us to hear too. And so we pray that you would teach us what we can learn from this passage today, and indeed that you yourself would speak to us through your word and through the
[00:45:40] witness of your Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We begin with John chapter 15, starting with verse 18. Jesus said, if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
[00:46:00] If you belong 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 this comes as
[00:46:18] jesus is preparing his disciples for the rest of their lives they've got to be thinking jesus you're going away and you're just telling us how terrible it's going to be little do they know that
[00:46:30] over the next few decades almost all of them will be martyred dying for the sake of the gospel And this is precisely what Jesus is preparing them for.
[00:46:43] Because although they have seen tensions rising up against Jesus, the authorities in Jerusalem getting bolder and bolder against Jesus, I have to wonder if the disciples actually thought that Jesus would allow himself to be killed.
[00:47:01] Because it's got to be eye-opening for them.
[00:47:06] It's one thing to be disliked.
[00:47:08] but to be hated so much that they'd actually kill you if they'd kill Jesus who was safe and so at first glance these words they don't sound very comforting to us do they Jesus is telling me you know it's going to be rough out there your life is not going to be
[00:47:29] all sunshine and rainbows but remember that Jesus comforting his disciples is not just trying to make them feel better. The word comfort means to give strength to. And that's what Jesus is doing.
[00:47:44] So let's look at what he says a little more carefully. If the world hates you, remember it hated me first. The hatred of the world does not originate with us. The hatred of the world really
[00:48:00] isn't about us at all. It's about him. We carry his name and we live in his way and the world resents that but the good news is that the hatred of the world is not our burden to bear it's his
[00:48:16] and he alone can bear it we don't have to but Jesus also reminds us that we are chosen up out of the world all throughout the biblical history from Abraham and Genesis to Israel even to Jesus's disciples God has always chosen his people and when he chooses his people he sets
[00:48:40] them apart with a new identity and a new purpose. So Jesus is telling us by choosing you up out of the world, you have a new identity. You no longer belong to the world. You belong to Christ. And
[00:48:57] that means that our lives will look different. And it's going to draw attention just like it always has when God sets his people apart. About 15 years ago, there was a show, a very popular
[00:49:13] show about a zombie apocalypse. And it was called The Walking Dead, of course. And while I'm not endorsing this show per se, there is a scene which always has stuck with me. The human survivors,
[00:49:28] the very few of them that there were, are surrounded by a massive crowd of zombies.
[00:49:37] And the only way they can figure out how to get through that massive crowd of zombies is to cover themselves with, let's just say, bits of zombie grossness, if you catch my drift.
[00:49:51] And then they act like zombies, they move like zombies, they sound like them, they smell like them, and it works.
[00:50:00] They can walk right through that horde of zombies without any of them batting an eye.
[00:50:06] And then something happens.
[00:50:08] It begins to rain.
[00:50:11] And when it begins to rain, the rain washes off their disguise and immediately the zombies turned on them.
[00:50:18] That's all it took.
[00:50:20] And you might say, well, what does that have to do with the Bible today?
[00:50:25] But the reality is the world is full of the walking dead, the spiritually dead.
[00:50:31] In fact, the Bible tells us that we are all spiritually dead until God gives us his grace through Jesus to give us new life.
[00:50:39] Something changes when we meet Christ and he catches us up out of the world.
[00:50:43] Something changes when he rains down his grace on us and he washes us in the waters of baptism and we are born again by the spirit no longer the walking dead but those who are very much alive and that is the new birth that causes people who used to
[00:51:01] not give us the light of day it causes them to turn and become hostile now that hostility might look one way in america but i want us to think globally just for a minute these are the top 10
[00:51:18] countries for violent persecution of Christians, according to the World Watch list. Hundreds of thousands of Christians were displaced from their homes last year, and thousands were killed, and that's just the ones we know about. 93% of those deaths were in the country of Nigeria, and it's
[00:51:40] happening right now as we speak. And yet, where violent persecution is heaviest, it seems that the church grows the fastest. The church father, Tertullian, in the late second century, he lived in Carthage, North Africa, which is where a whole lot of Christians were persecuted by the Romans,
[00:51:59] and he famously wrote, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. God does not abandon those who are being persecuted, and in fact, that's where the church usually grows the quickest. But violent persecution isn't the norm in America. It does happen, but it's not the
[00:52:25] norm. And so sometimes we feel uncomfortable even talking about it because we're not being fed to the lions on a daily basis. But the fact remains that when our faith shows in public, the public
[00:52:37] doesn't like it. Our persecution might be more subtle, but it is still real. School environments change. Kids in middle school and high school find themselves faced with immense peer pressure because their beliefs don't mesh with the crowd. They are at a stage of their lives where they just
[00:52:58] want to fit in and be accepted, and yet Jesus says, you are set apart for me. Job environments change. At best, you will be avoided. Maybe you're not invited to that social event which helps you
[00:53:13] climb the corporate ladder. Maybe they won't even hire you in the first place because you won't fit in with their culture or maybe you're the office pariah because you stand up for the right thing
[00:53:24] or maybe they will be bolder in general because you know social media makes people real bold and folks will tell you on social media hiding behind their computer that you are like a child you love fairy tales and you worship a sky daddy because you can't cope with the way things really
[00:53:52] are and some even hiding behind their usernames will tell you you should be eliminated but whatever the case whatever it looks like jesus tells us it's not really you it's him they see him in you and they hate you for it because you look like him did you know the bible even says
[00:54:17] that you smell like Christ? In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul talks about Christians in this way. He says, for we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who
[00:54:33] are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death, to the other an aroma that brings life. In other words, those who come to love Christ will recognize that sweet smell of Christ
[00:54:48] in you. But those who hate Christ will smell him on you and they'll wrinkle up their nose and they'll tell you, you stink. But it's Christ they hate. Jesus says, remember what I told you.
[00:55:05] A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
[00:55:13] 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. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would
[00:55:26] not be guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my father as well. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty
[00:55:43] of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their law. They hated me without reason. And Jesus is quoting the Psalms
[00:56:00] there. Now here is where we have to unpack something that Jesus says, because we have been talking about the world in a very big, very general sense. But Jesus is warning the disciples about persecution, not just from the unbelieving world, not just from the pagan Roman world,
[00:56:20] but right at home from the Jewish religious authorities and political parties that are there that claim to be of God but reject Jesus. The world is all religious systems that are opposed to Christ. But Jesus doesn't let them off the hook. He says, if I hadn't come and they hadn't
[00:56:44] heard and they hadn't seen, they wouldn't be guilty. But now there's no excuse because Jesus is the fullest revealing of God that there is. And so once we have heard the message of Christ, he says, we are accountable to it. We can't pretend his words don't matter. We can't decide,
[00:57:06] that's not how it really is, and we can't claim ignorance of it. It is acceptance or it is rejection of Jesus. There are only two uniforms on this battlefield, the one of the kingdom of God
[00:57:22] and the one of the kingdom of this world. A line is drawn. A side must be chosen.
[00:57:32] Jesus says in Matthew that whoever is not with him is against him.
[00:57:39] So will we choose to be loved by the world?
[00:57:42] Or will we remain in Christ's love and risk hatred from the world?
[00:57:52] And when we are inevitably hated as Christians, what do we do about it?
[00:57:58] Well, the first one, the first thing we can do is pretty obvious.
[00:58:02] We respond with love, not hate.
[00:58:04] because the mark of a disciple of Jesus Christ is love.
[00:58:09] And it's not just reacting with love, like when somebody treats you badly and you respond with grace, that's all good.
[00:58:16] But the love of God is not just reactive, it is proactive.
[00:58:22] We go forth into the world that hates us with mercy and telling people the truth because the love of Christ does not hide.
[00:58:34] The love of Christ reaches out into the world.
[00:58:39] Y'all have heard that phrase, haters going to hate?
[00:58:43] What Jesus is telling us here, lovers got to love.
[00:58:48] The lovers and the haters, they don't stay on either side of the gymnasium like middle school boys and girls at a dance.
[00:58:56] The disciples, the love of Christ, reaches into the other side.
[00:59:02] And we know that the love of Christ reaches into the other side.
[00:59:05] because when the world was full of spiritually dead people, it was God who so loved the world that he reached into it and gave his one and only son.
[00:59:20] And a side note on that seriousness is that we've got to look upon the faces of the people who hate us and realize something.
[00:59:30] You know, earlier I used the zombie analogy to talk about the spiritually dead, and I don't want you to take that metaphor too far because the truth is that the spiritually dead are not monsters.
[00:59:43] They are human beings made in the image of God who are in deep bondage, who are enslaved to sin and death in heavy chains.
[00:59:58] Even ones who do great evil out of their own fallen nature, they become pawns on the battlefield by the forces of evil, and they are not our true enemy.
[01:00:11] Because our true enemy is not made of flesh and blood, y'all.
[01:00:15] Our true enemy is the spiritual forces of evil, the commander of whose army Jesus calls the prince of this world.
[01:00:23] And it is only through Christ that they can be set free.
[01:00:27] And so, too, we do have hope, but we're not naive about it.
[01:00:35] In Matthew, Jesus says, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
[01:00:39] So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
[01:00:43] our hearts should be pure but our minds got to be sharp to know what we're going to encounter out there some will hear the gospel and believe and we're going to rejoice with them and others
[01:00:57] will reject the gospel reject us and we don't become discouraged we march on now this this next one i tell you sort of tongue-in-cheek okay but i do mean it in seriousness make sure you're hated
[01:01:13] because of Christ, not because you're a jerk. We got to be careful with this one. We all do because it is supposed to be Christ that they hate because of who he is. It's not supposed to be
[01:01:28] Christ who they hate because of who we are. And the truth is a whole lot of people reject Christ because of his Christians. And wouldn't that be a terrifying thing to stand before him and have to
[01:01:40] give an account for that? Four, don't be surprised if the world tries to turn the tables on you.
[01:01:49] You probably heard the saying, there is no hate like Christian love.
[01:01:57] Y'all heard that saying before?
[01:01:59] We see that right now in our culture, where so many say that love is accepting any human desire as valid, even when that action is detrimental to somebody's emotional, mental, or physical, or spiritual well-being.
[01:02:14] and likewise we can be labeled hateful for telling the truth of God's purpose for life for marriage for identity and we can be labeled hateful for something not wanting someone to live in that deception not wanting someone to live in ways that will harm themselves and so the reality
[01:02:37] is if you tell the truth in love even in love you'll probably be called hateful at some point in your life. Are you ready for that? Now five is obvious too, that no matter if the world hates us
[01:02:56] or not, we should bear witness to Christ anyway. Don't shrink back. Jesus says in this passage today, he says, when the advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the spirit of
[01:03:09] truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. So I want you to remember something that persecution it's a platform. Persecution is a platform for witnessing. In Matthew Jesus says on my account
[01:03:36] or in other words because of me you're going to be brought up before governors and kings as witnesses, it will be in the very act of being hated that you are given your chance to speak
[01:03:50] the name of Jesus. It happened ages ago. It happened in the book of Acts. Before Stephen, the very first martyr, was stoned to death, he gave one of the most powerful, most compelling testimonies about Christ that we've ever read. And then they killed him. And it happens still today.
[01:04:17] A friend of mine who is a preacher, she used to be an English teacher.
[01:04:21] And she was open about her faith in the work that she did.
[01:04:26] And in the teacher's lounge, she quickly became ostracized because when everybody else was talking smack about the kids behind their back, she stood up for them and said, let's build up our students and not tear them down.
[01:04:39] And she quickly got the name Mrs. Christian with the rainbow where the sun don't shine.
[01:04:44] and so not welcome in the teacher's lounge kicked out of there she started hosting students in her own classroom during lunch and the teachers within earshot suddenly heard every day the sounds of worship songs and praise to god she said because she was hated by those teachers
[01:05:05] so many kiddos came to know christ remember that onus is not on you to change people's hearts That's not what you're called to do.
[01:05:18] Only God can make that conversion happen.
[01:05:21] What you are called to do is bear witness.
[01:05:26] And then the Spirit will come and prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.
[01:05:33] That's his job.
[01:05:37] Number six, we are to look like Christ, act like Christ, live like Christ.
[01:05:43] Y'all, I want you to stink like Christ.
[01:05:46] Okay?
[01:05:46] I want them to know you are coming because the Holy Spirit wafts around that corner before you do.
[01:05:54] Because you carry his presence into the world.
[01:05:59] And some are going to respond to it and some are going to run far, far away.
[01:06:03] Now, I remember when I was a kid and I was still learning about Jesus and I really didn't understand much about the whole ordeal.
[01:06:10] But y'all know Mike Turner, right?
[01:06:13] Mike Turner walked into my Sunday school classroom for the very first time.
[01:06:16] I had never laid eyes on a man before and I said, I don't know what he's got.
[01:06:19] but I want that. He stank like Christ. He still stinks like Christ. Y'all, we all need to stink like Christ because we carry the presence of the living God with us. And because seven is a good
[01:06:38] biblical number, that's where we're in today. I want you to be comforted by the hate of the world.
[01:06:45] I want you to be comforted by the hatred of the world because it means you don't belong to the world, you belong to Christ. And he sees you and he takes your persecution personally. The slander,
[01:07:00] the jokes, the avoidance, the criticism, the accusations, the violence, even the hate crimes, he all takes it personally. And you know how I know that he takes it personally? I know that because if you remember when Saul, who was wreaking havoc on the early church, he was dragging
[01:07:17] Christians from their homes. He was imprisoning them. He was watching them be stoned to death.
[01:07:22] He was walking down the road one day and Jesus appeared to him. And you remember what Jesus said?
[01:07:27] Jesus said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Why do you persecute me? Jesus says. Jesus came to his church's defense back then. He still does the same thing today. He sees it all and he's with
[01:07:47] us at every step of the way because it's not about us it's all about him we are the witnesses and the faithful followers to whom he says in this world you will have trouble it's a promise
[01:08:00] but take heart i have overcome the world y'all we may be in the midst of a battle but the war is already won victory belongs to christ and we wear his colors our uniform is
[01:08:19] Christ. You belong to him. And church, if the world hates you because you belong to Christ, take heart. Because the world may hate you, but you are deeply loved by him. And his love will

[01:08:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:08:34] outlast the world itself. Amen. Please stand as you're able. We'll have to read you something.

[01:13:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:13:00] Because the truth is, if you belong to Christ, nothing can wrench you from his grasp. Amen.
[01:13:05] Hear these words from the letter to the Romans.
[01:13:09] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
[01:13:12] Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
[01:13:18] As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long.
[01:13:21] We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
[01:13:24] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
[01:13:30] I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[01:13:46] Amen.
[01:13:47] Would you join me in ascending forth?
[01:13:50] All need to be saved.
[01:13:53] All can be saved.
[01:13:55] All can know they are saved.
[01:13:58] And all can be saved to the uttermost.
[01:14:01] Amen.