Conflict in Abiding • John 15:18 - 16:4

Video teaching begins 21:14

Notes

Peace, love, joy, abiding in Christ. Conflict.

What?
Somebody, somewhere, is going to have a real problem with you following Christ.
Jesus is always honest and tells the truth about following Him. Now He is telling the disciples that because they will abide in Him they will be hated by the world. They are getting into a conflict that is bigger than them. And Jesus doesn’t want them to be shaken that people reject their witness about Jesus.

Why do we do what we do? Is it to be accepted by men? Or is it to glorify God?

Let’s read in John 15, from verse 18.

1. Notice, that the world hates Jesus. Why? Because He testifies to the truth, that there is a conflict between God and man.

A. Up until now Jesus has been speaking to His disciples about abiding in Him as a branch abides in the vine. As we maintain that vital connection to Jesus His life flows in us, and we naturally bear fruit. It’s the fruit of the Spirit, which is love. That’s fabulous, isn’t it?

B. Who would think that abiding in Jesus, in the Spirit, in love would result in conflict? The reality is that when we abide in Jesus, we enter into the conflict of the ages, man against God.

C. Jesus said earlier in John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Remember that Jesus perfectly represents the Father, and that He is the Truth. The Father testifies of the world, that its deeds are evil. Everyone has sinned and continually falls short of the glory of God. They are wrong, under God’s righteous condemnation.

D. The world is run by Satan, the god of this world. He is at war with God. Ephesians 2:1-2 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

E. So the world says, we’re not wrong, God is wrong. His laws are repressive, binding, restrictive. They choke us. We need to be free from this tyrant, to live our own lives, to determine what we shall be. We can do anything we want. We can be anything we want.

F. And we have seen in John 3:17-21 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

2. Why does the world hate the disciples?

A. Because the disciples are saved out of the world.

1. We used to be in the world. Therefore we used to agree with everyone else that God is weird and we are normal.

2. But something happened to us. Jesus chose us out of the world. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. Wow! He made a difference in our lives. We went from death to life, from darkness to light. Titus 3:3- 7 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

B. We are no longer like those in the world, who are against God, who have no relationship with God. We are alive in God. We have that very life of God in us.

C. Because we have that life of God in us, and His word, and His love, we are witnesses of God just like Jesus. We say the same things as Jesus. God is right, and we all are wrong.

D. Some people will receive that message. They will become born again and be chosen out of the world. Some won’t receive that. They love the darkness because their deeds are evil. So they will resent the light that we are.

E. We are not to take it personally. Really, it’s proof that we are really born again.

1. Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

2. 1 Peter 4:14-19 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

3. Jesus says this hatred comes because they do not know Me. How can the world not know God? The answer is, they refuse to know God.

A. There are testimonies and witnesses to the existence of God.

1. The creation itself testifies that there is a God. The order, the power, and the fact that something is there. Nothing should exist. But here we are. Not only that. It is a fact that there is life nowhere else in the universe. There should be at least 30 or more intelligent civilisations in the galaxy, says one article I read lately. But there is no sign of it. How can that be, if the requirements for life exist on these 30 or more different worlds?

2. A testimony greater than the creation is the Scriptures. The witness of God has been in every generation since the creation of the world. Here we have the law of God, which is perfect and reasonable. No one I know wants to be lied to, to be robbed, to be betrayed, to be murdered. Here we have the prophecies of God, showing in advance what He will do, what will happen in the world, how the world will end. These things are happening right now. That’s how we know that the return of Jesus Christ is very soon.

B. Here is the greatest testimony about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, in two ways: He spoke to us, and He did works.

1. There’s one incident that shows both of these points, in Luke 5:17-26 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

2. Now Jesus did this constantly. He said things that only God could say, then He did things that only God could do.

3. Everything Jesus did was good. Healing, delivering from demonic oppression, sight to the blind, raising from the dead, feeding thousands of people. Never once calling down fire from heaven, destroying people. Always good. Jesus perfectly reveals that the Father is good.

C. Therefore, anyone who hates the Father is without excuse, you hate what is good. The fault is completely on the side of man: they hated Me without a cause.

D. This is written three times in Messianic psalms by David.

1. Psalm 35:7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my soul.

2. Psalm 69:4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; what I did not steal, I then have to restore.

3. Psalm 109:3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. Verse 5 says: Thus they have repaid me evil for good and hatred for my love.

4. Psalm 38:19-20 But my enemies are vigorous and strong, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. And those who repay evil for good, they oppose me, because I follow what is good.

E. We emphasise: anyone who is against Jesus has no excuse, because Jesus is completely good.

4. Jesus says the Holy Spirit will testify and you will testify.

A. Again, this testifying is because of who the Christian is: they were chosen out of the world. They were redeemed. They were grafted into Jesus like a branch on a vine. Because His life and His Spirit was in them, they did as Jesus did.

B. The apostles were eyewitnesses of everything. From the baptism of John to the Crucifixion to the Resurrection to the Ascension. They saw it all.

5. Jesus wants to keep them from stumbling.

A. People will exclude you and kill you and think they are doing God a favour.

B. You could get the idea that maybe you’re wrong. How come nobody listens to me? How can they say I’m wrong and they’re right? Maybe I am wrong. I don’t want to fight anybody. These are my family. These are my co-workers. These are people that I don’t have a problem with. Why am I the one who is making all the trouble?

C. But remember, Jesus is telling us now: it’s going to happen. There will be people who won’t receive your testimony. They might even kill you. This is a solemn testimony.

6. So what? Jesus wants to keep us from stumbling.

A. So first of all, realise that when we receive Jesus, we enter a conflict that is bigger than we are. The world hates Jesus. This hatred is unreasonable, there is no justification for it. We don’t want to be paranoid about this. It’s just the way it is. When I became a Christian, my brother had a hard time with that. When my mother repented and really started following the Lord my father had a real hard time with it. I’ve worked with people that really treated me badly because I was a Christian. I learned later about one guy that he treated my badly because he used to be a Christian and got his girlfriend pregnant and got her an abortion. He messed up his conscience and took it out on me. You don’t know what people are going through when they reject Jesus.
B. Realise this is not about us.

1. Because we are in Christ, the world will hate us. If they resist Jesus they will resist us. It’s because Christ is in us.

2. We don’t want to take this personally or get offended when our witness is not received.

3. The world did not receive Jesus’ witness, either. They killed the apostles and the prophets. So we are in good company.

C. Realise that God still wants us to witness to the world.

1. That’s what Jesus did, that’s what the Holy Spirit in us wants to do.

2. God says in Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.”

3. John 3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

4. Here’s what God knows is going to happen: some people are going to receive our word and keep it.

D. So here’s what we want to do: abide in Christ. Everything else comes out of our life in Jesus. That’s where we get the encouragement. That’s where we get the courage. That’s where we get the love for people. That is our foundation. That’s where we start, always.

E. Nowadays the devil does not want us to abide in Christ.

1. He wants us to be in conflict with one another and not love one another.

2. He wants us to be so focused on the here and now that we lose sight of our future.

F. The future is our most valuable possession. Everyday it’s becoming more and more valuable. The world to come is forever. Everything we see is going to fade away. Nothing is going to last.

G. Why do we do what we do? Is it because we want people to think well of us? Do we think, “If people like me, I must be doing the right thing.”? Like winning awards. That proves that I’m right! Look how many people approve of me. Psalm 49:18 For men will praise you when you do well for yourself.

H. The apostle Paul says Galatians1:10 For if Istill pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

G. What really matters is what Jesus thinks of us. It doesn’t even matter what I think of myself, but what does He think? That means losing my reputation among people. Be prepared so that you do not stumble.

Let’s pray.