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Why Does Everyone Hate Me?
John 15:18-25
Skip Heitzig

John 15 (NKJV™)
18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 "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.
20 "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.
21 "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
22 "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 "He who hates Me hates My Father also.
24 "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.
25 "But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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43 John - Believe:879 - 2009

There is a flipside to being a friend of Jesus. That's true of any friendship. Whenever you ally yourself and make friends with someone, you will incur some enemies because of it. Likewise, some who don't like Jesus won't like us either—and we discover there are quite a few who don't! Let's find out why, and how we can raise our heads high and prevail.

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" John 20:31.

Believe:879 is an epic journey through the book of John led by Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary of Albuquerque. As we explore each of the 879 verses of this gospel, we'll grow in grace and in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. From His pre-incarnate existence, to His public ministry, through His death and His resurrection we'll traverse familiar territory and embark on new adventures of faith.

FREE - Download Entire Series (MP3) (Help) | Buy series | Buy audiobook

Outline

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  1. The World Hates You

  2. The World Hates You Because It Hates God

  3. The World Hates You Because You Defected

  4. The World Hates You But There's Good News


Consider This:

  1. In what ways do you feel at home in the world? Out of sync with the world? In what ways does the world hate you now? When have you experienced persecution or lack of acceptance? How does that make you feel?

  2. Look up Galatians 1:10 and think it over—what does it mean to you personally?

  3. If someone asked you how to have joy in the midst of tough times, what would you say? How does it make you feel that you are sometimes treated like the Lord whom you serve?

Detailed Notes

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  1. Introduction
    1. Opposing natures
      1. Believers
        1. Redeemed nature
        2. Come to Christ, changed
      2. The world
        1. Unredeemed nature
        2. Unchanged
    2. Context
      1. Jesus tells the whole truth: advantages and disadvantages
        1. "I have called you friends," (John 15:15)
        2. I have enemies
        3. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
        4. "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." (John 15:11)
        5. Now speaks of hatred, animosity, persecution
      2. Setting
        1. 11 disciples with Jesus at Passover
        2. Walking from the Upper Room toward the Garden of Gethsemane
      3. Four statements
        1. Reflect the relationship of believers to the unbelieving world
        2. Build upon one another to give the full picture
        3. Presuppose a relationship with Christ that you don't mind sharing with others
  2. The World Hates You
    1. Contrast with Love
      1. Frequency in previous paragraph (9 times)
        1. 3 times in v. 9
        2. 2 times in v. 10
        3. 2 times in v. 12
        4. Once in v. 13
        5. Once in v. 17
      2. Relationship
        1. Love of Father for Son
        2. Love of Son for disciples
        3. Love of disciples for one another
      3. Now "hate"
    2. The love of Christ will incur the hatred of this world
      1. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1)
      2. "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." (1 John 3:13)
    3. The World
      1. Κόσμος; kosmos - world system
        1. Beliefs, values, ideology
        2. Against God's plan and the Lord Jesus Christ
      2. Headed by Satan: the god of this world (See 2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT)
      3. Opposed to the gospel message that Jesus is the singular way to salvation
      4. Often refined, cultured, intellectual, spiritual, religious
      5. Opposed to God, Christ, and believers
    4. Persecute: to chase, to hunt (v. 20)
    5. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles…Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake." (Matthew 10:16-18; Matthew 10:21-22)
      1. Wherever gospel taken, those who preached it were hassled
      2. Roman persecution
        1. Flung to lions
        2. Burned at stake
        3. Human torches in Nero's garden
        4. Sewn into carcasses of slain animals, so wild animals eat them
        5. Molten lead poured
        6. Eyes gouged out
      3. The disciples (Foxe's Book of Martyrs)
        1. Matthew: slain with the sword in Ethiopia
        2. Mark: dragged through streets of Alexandria
        3. Luke: hung on an olive tree in Greece
        4. John: placed in boiling oil (did not die; banished to Patmos)
        5. Peter: crucified upside-down in Rome
        6. James the greater: beheaded in Jerusalem
        7. James the less: thrown from the temple and beaten to death with clubs
        8. Bartholomew: flayed alive
        9. Andrew: bound to a cross, preached to his persecutors until he died
        10. Thomas: run through with a lance in East India
        11. Jude: shot with arrows
  3. The World Hates You Because It Hates God
    1. Spiritual Issue
      1. Satan dispatches his demon horde to influence policy and ideology of this world
      2. We are caught in the cross fire
      3. Michael Medved (movie critic) spoke of another critic who said of the review for Last Temptation of Christ "We must stand together against these Christians."
    2. If you are not serious about following, this probably won't affect you
    3. Religious People
      1. One solution for sin: Jesus Christ
      2. If they reject Jesus, they reject God
        1. "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." (John 8:19)
        2. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning," (John 8:44)
        3. "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." (John 8:23)
      3. A person who rejects Christ (no matter how outwardly religiously zealous) if reject God: God hater
    4. Before Jesus came, man could claim relative goodness and self righteousness
      1. Keep the laws
      2. Better than others
    5. Jesus is perfection incarnate: reveals our sinfulness
      1. African chief who broke the mirror
      2. Jesus perfect righteousness shows our utter sinfulness
      3. "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)
  4. The World Hates You Because You Defected
    1. You no longer live like the world
    2. Chosen out of the world
    3. "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12)
    4. Leaving the ranks of the world is misinterpreted as superiority complex
      1. Jonas Hanway and his umbrella, had rocks thrown at him
      2. Church in Myrtle Beach told to keep the crosses inside because they are offensive
      3. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)
    5. The message of the cross is a reminder of Christ's perfection and His crucifixion
  5. The World Hates You But There's Good News
    1. You are in good company: stand with Christ
      1. Demonstrates you are a believer
      2. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)
        1. Moses before Pharaoh
        2. Isaiah sawn in two
        3. Jeremiah thrown in a well
        4. Elijah hounded by Jezebel and Ahab
    2. You have a good resource: Scripture
      1. "They hated me without a cause"
        1. Predicted (See Psalm 35; Psalm 69)
        2. God knows about the situation
      2. How the early church comforted themselves (See Acts 4)
    3. There is a good chance some will believe
      1. "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:69)
      2. "When you said, 'I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God' you were saying something very dramatic.
        When you said: Jesus was the Son of God you declared,
        'I am not an atheist, who says God doesn't exist.
        I am not an agnostic, who says, "I don't know if God exists."'
        When you said you believed that Jesus was the Son of the living God you were declaring,
        'I am not an idolater, that worships images made of wood, stone or gold.
        I don't worship my dead ancestors (as those who Buddhists, Confucionists, Taoists, and Shintoists do).
        I am not a nature worshipper (like the Hindus).
        I am not a fire worshipper (like the Zorastrians).'
        When you said you believed that Jesus was the Son of the living God, you declared
        'I am no polytheist, who says there are many gods.'
        When you said you believed Jesus to be the SON of God, you were saying you were
        Not a pantheist, that says, 'all is God'
        Not a deist, that thinks God created the world and never involved Himself in its problems.
        Not a uniformist, who believes that all things continue as they were in the beginning.
        Not a modernist, who denies the virgin birth.
        When you said you believed Jesus was the CHRIST, you declared,
        'I am not an unbelieving Jew, who denies Jesus as the Messiah.
        I am not a futurist, who yet looks for a Messiah.
        I am not a Theosophist or a follower of the Baha'i or Mohammedan cults that think Jesus is only one of God's many witnesses.'
        When you said you believed in Jesus, you were saying your faith was in Him,
        Not Buddha
        Nor Confucius
        Nor Mohammed
        Nor Reverend Moon
        When you said, 'I BELIEVE' you said,  'I accept the Scriptures,' because faith in Jesus is the direct result of the testimony of Scripture.
        When you said 'I' believe, you were declaring yours was a personal faith, it wasn't inherited, it wasn't forced upon you, but fully confessed.

        When you spoke the 'Good Confession' you drew a line in the sand. You declared that every one outside of Jesus was wrong. And you declared to the world that unless they turn to from their sins, accept Jesus as their Savior, make Him the Master of their lives, and are buried in the waters of Christian baptism, they will be condemned.
        That usually doesn't go down real well."

Greek terms: Κόσμος; kosmos - world system
Publications Referenced: Foxe's Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe
Figures Referenced: Michael Medved; Jonas Hanway;
Cross References: Psalm 35; Psalm 69; Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-18; Matthew 10:21-22; John 3:19; John 6:69; John 8:19; John 8:23; John 8:44; John 14:27; John 15:11; John 15:15; Acts 4; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 3:13

 

Transcript

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We're in John's Gospel this morning.  We've been in it for some time if you've been with us.  I don't know how long it has been, but it's like week 68 or something like that.  Just really, I am so enjoying being able to take such an in-depth look at the Gospel of John, the life of Christ and how he has portrayed and what he says and his life and the reaction to his life has been eye-opening for me.

So turn to John Chapter 15 this morning.  Let's pray together.  Lord, here we are.  We're your people.  We give ourselves to you during this time.  We present our bodies as living sacrifices.  It's our desire Lord that we hear from you.  We believe you speak.  You speak through the very words that Jesus spoke, the very words the apostles wrote or the prophets spoke and wrote.  We believe the Word of God is living.  It's powerful.  It's sharper than a two-edged sword.  And we believe you have a word to speak to each one of us.  In many ways, that will balance out what Jesus told his disciples in the previous words he spoke to them.  Truly Lord, you want us to be knowledgeable and equipped to be able to live in this world, so that we know what could happen, what will happen if we love Jesus.  Give us strength Lord to hear this word from you, in Jesus' name, Amen.

I've been told that you're either a dog person or a cat person.  I don't know if that's true.  I've had both.  I've enjoyed both.  I guess I would be called the dog person.  I really have had more dogs than cats.  I really love spending time with my little puppy.  In fact, let's do an informal poll, how many of you would say you're cat people?  Raise your hands.  You see.  Well, God bless you.  You're welcome here.  [Laughter] How many of you are dog people?  Raise your hand.

So, as I read what I'm about to read, a little disclaimer, not down on cats.  This comes and says, "Please follow these step-by-step instructions on how to bathe your cat.  Be careful not to deviate from any portion of these instructions, as doing so can result in serious injury.  Number one, thoroughly clean the toilet.  Number two, add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water and have both lids lifted.  Number three, obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him toward the bathroom.  Number four, in one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet.  Close both lids.  You may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape.  Caution: do not get any part of your body too close to the edge.  Number five, flush the toilet two or three times.  This provides a power wash and rinse, which I found to be quite effective.  Number six, have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.  Number seven, stand behind the toilet as far as you can and quickly lift both lids.  Number eight, the now clean cat will rocket out of the toilet and run outside where he will dry himself.  Here's the best part, it is signed sincerely, the family dog."

Oh, now, we get it.  Cats and dogs have opposing natures.

Now, that's funny, but something that is more sobering is the world of unbelievers has by and large an opposing nature to the believer.  We have redeemed the nature.  We've come to Christ.  We've been changed.  We're redeemed.  The unbelieving world has an unchanged, unredeemed nature.  And therefore, there's going to be some kind of a collision, some sort of firework display when both of those personalities get together.  That's important as we begin our paragraph in John Chapter 15.

In this next paragraph, Jesus gives to his disciples, let's call it the downside or the flipside of being a believer of following him, of being a disciple.  It's the consequences of Christianity.

Now, if I have one criticism that I would level against modern evangelism, not all of it, but some of it, is that they don't always give the full scoop, the whole truth.  They present Christianity light as opposed to what real Christianity is.  Just come to Jesus and you'll smile all day long, everything is great.  And that's just not the whole truth.  Jesus gives the truth, the pros, the cons, the ups, the downs, the advantages and the disadvantages.

Now, he has just told them in the previous paragraph if you were with us last week that they were his friends.  "I call you no longer servants.  I call you my friends."  What a great paragraph.  But here, Jesus decides to flip the coin and basically say, "You're my friends, but you've got to know something as my friends.  I've got some enemies and my enemies don't like my friends."

So with that, we begin in Verse 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.'"
Now, I believe that when Jesus spoke these words, that these jolted his disciples a bit.  They were already a bit skittish for Christ had told them that he was leaving.  But, all through this upper room discourse, he has been trying to comfort them.  Right, John 14:1, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me."  Down a few verses he says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives."  And again, he says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  We keep going down a few verses and he says, "These things I have spoken to you that your joy would be full."  So don't let your heart be troubled.  I'm giving you peace, I'm giving you joy.  He is bringing comfort.  Now, he turns a corner and it's like a jolt.  He speaks about hatred, animosity, persecution.

I remember as a young child being jolted when I was a little kid in school on November 22, 1963.  It was the day that Kennedy got shot.  I remember sitting in the room at school where I first heard the news, it's indelibly, emblazoned in my mind.  I remember where the chalkboard was.  I remember the looks on other students' faces, my teacher's face.  I remember staring out the window and I was jolted wondering, "How could anybody hate our president so much as to do that?"  It was a shock to me.  I think we were all jolted on September 11, 2001 when we discovered that two planes buried themselves into the World Trade Center and another crashed at the Pentagon, and another was buried in the field trying to do damage.  We were jolted because we came to understand that there were people out there that hate us so much.  They don't care who gets hurt in the process and there's a lot of them shocked to us.

So here's these 11 disciples.  They're with Jesus at the Passover.  They're walking from the upper room toward the Garden of Gasemity.  Jesus has been comforting them, but now, he sort of turns a corner and speaks about something very serious.  Frankly, a sermon none of us really want to hear.

I'm going to give you four statements this morning.  They're in your bulletin outline.  The four statements reflect the relationship we have as believers with the unbelieving world because we're related to Christ.  Also, these four statements will build one upon another and when they're all together, we get the full picture.  Also, these four statements presuppose that you have a relationship with Christ and you don't mind sharing that relationship with other people.

And so, here's the first statement, "The world hates you."  The world hates you.  Jesus plainly said in Verse 18 and 19.  Let's look more carefully.  And as you're looking more carefully, I want you to notice how both those verses begin.  They both begin with a conditional clause, an if clause.  But the way it's written in the original Greek language, there's an assumption built into it.

So, I'm going to read it with you, but I'm going to insert something because I want to give you what I believe is the full force of the original statement.  "If the world hates you and it does, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world and you are not, 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."  That's the first statement, "The world hates you."

Now, you all notice as we read through this that the word hate or hatred appears several times in the paragraph that we're dealing with.  Six times altogether.  I want you just to see the contrast between this paragraph and the previous paragraph where we were last week.  If you go back to Verse 9, you will notice another word repeated three times in one verse.  Look at it.  Verse 9, "As the Father loved Me, so I also have .loved you, abide in My love," three times in one verse.  In Verse 10, another two times the word love appears, Verse 12, another two times, Verse 13, another one occasion, and in Verse 17, it appears once again.  Nine times in one paragraph, love, love, love, love.  The love of the Father for the Son, the love of the Son for his disciples, the love of the disciples for one another.  It's all about love.

Now, hate, hate, hate.  What's the message?  What's the connection?  Simply this, the love of Christ will incur the hatred of this world.  Did you know that's a prominent theme in the New Testament?  The author of the Gospel of John, John the Apostle, also wrote 1 John, listen to what he writes.  1 John 3:1, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  Marvel not my brethren, if the world hates you."  That's the first statement.  That's the first message Jesus gets across, "The world hates you, my disciple."  But what does Jesus mean by the world?  That's the term you're familiar with if you've read the Bible for any length of time.  It doesn't mean the globe itself, the planet Earth itself, the word world, cosmos is the Greek word we get our term cosmic or cosmopolitan from that word.  It really means a system, an ordered system, beliefs, values, people, ideologies that are against God's plan and principally against the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was a kid, there was a television called the Wide World of Sports.  Anybody ever heard of that?  The Wide World of Sports wasn't a planet in our solar system revolving around the sun.  I know a lot of men wish that really did exist and they live there, but it was simply a way of saying, "Here's a system of activities and people and interest that all revolve around sports, the Wide World of Sports.  The world in this idea, this class is that kind of world.  It is headed by Satan who's called the god of this world.  2 Corinthians 4, "The god in this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe."  So it's his ordered system that includes the devil, all of his demons who love to use all unbelievers and they're opposed to the singular gospel message that Jesus Christ is the way to salvation.

That world hates you.  Something you should know about the world.  The world is often very refined, very cultured, very intellectual and very spiritual, very religious.  But, at the same time, that would wants to be all those things is opposed to God, principally opposed to Christ and they're not too crazy about you.  That is why, if you have become a Christian recently, you feel uncomfortable in places you used to fell comfortable.  You walk around, you wonder, "Why do they look at me like that way?  Why did they treat me that way?  I don't feel like I belong here anymore.  I'm uncomfortable."

Sort of like the missionaries who are out where there were cannibals and the cannibals were staring at them, just staring at them.  And it made one of them feel very uncomfortable and he said, "Why do you keep looking at me that way?"  And one of the cannibals said, "Well, I am the food inspector."  "Yeah, that makes me feel uncomfortable."  Did you ever get the idea that the world is looking at you very carefully and scrutinizing you?  It's because they are.  And the world though it includes all of its refinement, all of its culture and all of its religion, the world hates the true follower of Christ.

Look at Verse 20 now.  Jesus said, "Remember the word that I said to you."  He said this to them in Chapter 13, "A servant is not greater than his master."  And it takes that principle and applies it.  "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute--," it's a very strong word for persecute.  It means to chase, to hunt.  "They will persecute you.  If they kept my word, they will keep yours also."

Okay, keep a marker here for a moment and turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew.  I want you to read something that interfaces with this.  Something Jesus also told them.  Turn to Matthew Chapter 10.  Matthew 10, I love to hear those pages turned by the way.  Put that on tape.  Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves."  Well, you know, if I've been there I would have thought, "Thanks a lot."  What kind of a Lord is this?  "I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."  And he explains, "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.  You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles."

Go down to Verse 21 now, "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death," and here it is, "and you will be hated by all for My name's sake."  Well, that's exactly what happened.

On the day of Pentecost, when the church began and Peter hit the street of Jerusalem and started proclaiming the gospel, he got into trouble.  And after that when the gospel was taken into Samaria, other parts of Judea, Damascus, when Paul started traveling all around Asia Minor, wherever the gospel was taken, those who preach it were hounded in hassle.  It's part of the job you might say.  It happened.  The annals of church history record that the earliest Christians under the Roman persecutions were floundered alliance, burned at the stake Nero's gardens at night.  Animals were gutted and believers were sewn into the carcasses of these slain animals so the wild dogs would tear them to shreds.  Molten lead was poured on the tenderest parts of their bodies.  Eyes were gouged out, et cetera, et cetera.  All because they were Jesus' friends and they loved him.

And one of these 11 disciples, the ones Jesus was immediately speaking with.  What about them?  What happened to them?  Let me tell you about a book if you haven't read, I recommend every Christian read at least once.  It's called Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

It's rendering of what happened historically to followers of Christ from the earliest apostles onwards until the time it was written.  He tells what happens to some of these followers, these apostles.  Matthew, slain with the sword in Ethiopia.  Mark, dragged through the streets of Alexandria.  Luke, hung on an olive tree in Greece.  John, place in boiling oil where record says he didn't die and so he was vanished to the Island of Patmos.  Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.  James the Greater, beheaded in Jerusalem.  The Bible records that.  James the Last was thrown from the temple then beaten to death with clubs.  Matthew flayed alive.  Andrew, bound to a cross where he preached to his persecutors until he died.  Thomas was ran through with a lance in East India and Jude was shot to death with arrows.  These are Jesus' friends.

Now, I don't know what you expected when you came to Christ.  I don't know if somebody told you that you can just name it and claim it and have perfect prosperity and smile your way all the way to heaven.  But, that aside whatever has happened in you lives since you've come to Christ, anything short of what we just read that happened to these apostles, you live a pretty good life.

Okay, "But I've had some problems in my life."  Okay, we all have, but you just think of the record of what these people suffered because they were friends of Jesus Christ and we understand the impact of the statement.  "You will be hated by all for my name's sake."

So that's principle number one and no mater what form of hatred that takes, it may not be violent like it was with some of these guys.  It might be simply that you're marginalized.  People don't pay attention to you.  They shun you at work or in family circles, but the world hates you.

Number two, here's the second statement that builds on the first.  "The world hates you because the world hates God."  Now that's quite a statement.  Verse 18, Jesus said, "It's because, they hate Me."  Look at Verse 23, "He who hates Me, hates my Father also."  Also in Verse 24 toward the end, "But now they have seen and have also hated both Me and my Father."

We're beginning to understand that any hatred the world would have toward us is really a spiritual issue.  It's because the god of this world, Satan, who dispatches his demon hordes to influence policy and ideology, and thinking of the unbelieving world toward the Christian that you and I are sort of cut in the crossfire, but there's a real battle going on.  Some of you have heard of Michael Medved.  Michael Medved is a reviewer of media, principally, movies in the past.  He was a movie critic.  He would give his assessment.  I think he's very fair.  He's conservative.  He's a Jewish fellow but I think he's very fair even toward Christians and he told a story on his radio show about what happened some years back when the movie The Last Temptation of Christ was released.  Remember that film?  It's really a slanderous film against Jesus and as far as just a piece of work, a piece of art, it was a mediocre film at best.  It didn't deserve any good ratings at all.  It was poorly done.

Another film critique, confided in Michael Medved during that time and said, "Mike, we need to give this film high ratings," because he said, "we all need to stand together against these Christians."  Isn't that quite a statement?  "We all need to stand together against these Christians."  In other words, they had an agenda that goes along exactly with what Jesus said would be the agenda.  We've got to stand against this Christians and it's because these Christians stand for Christ.

I have to add this.  If you're not really serious about following Jesus, if it's to you just like come Sunday mornings, I listen to something and I do whatever I want to do, this probably won't affect you at all.  Satan wouldn't -- he didn't need to ask you.  He's got you right where he wants you.  You're neutralized.  But if you are the serious follower of Christ and you surrender your life to him, you can expect to some degree this is going to happen.  The family dog was to flush the family cat down the toilet.

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Wait a minute, Jesus keep saying these people hate God.  They hate God, they hate God."

I mean this isn't Hollywood Jesus is living in.  He's in Jerusalem, right?  Aren't these religious people?  Aren't these people who are very devout and sincere religiously?  And yet Jesus says they hate God?  Well, think about it.  If God only sent one solution for sin, which was Jesus, if they reject Jesus, they're rejecting God, which is one of the themes of the Gospel of John.  Am I right?  All the way through the Gospel of John, we see that happening.  The enemies are rounding the wagons to figure out some way to get a hold of Christ and arrest him and see him killed?

And the real showdown, I would say, comes in John Chapter 8 and in that showdown, let's see what Jesus said.  This is John Chapter 8.  He said, "You neither know Me nor my Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and you're trying to kill me."  And then he says, "I am from above, you are from beneath.  I am not of this world, you are of this world."  You know what he's saying?  This world system is from the pit of hell controlled by Satan, "And I am from above and you're trying to kill me."

So, here's the point.  It's a hard pill to swallow.  If a person rejects Christ, I don't care how outwardly, zealously, religious they may be.  They might be ardent atheist, they might be a sincere religionist, if they reject Christ, they reject God.  And Jesus places them in that category of being a God Hater.  The world hates you.  The world hates you because the world hates God.

Now, look with me at Verse 22.  "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. 24 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 have also hated both Me and My Father."

Before Jesus came, I suppose that anyone could claim a relative goodness, a relative righteousness, a self-righteousness.  You see, people could say, "Well, I keep this laws and I'm very religiously devoted and sincere.  I keep this and I keep that and I do this and I do that, and so I'm okay and I'm certainly much better than many other people who don't do these things."  But then, Jesus came and set the bar really high.  He was perfection incarnate.  He was God's only Son, God's only Savior, God's only solution, and his perfection showed all of mankind even there's utter sinfulness.

There's a story of a chief in Africa, an African chief who visited a mission station.  And when he was at the mission station, he had never seen a mirror before.  He's from some of the back tribes in Africa, but he was at the mission station.  Our relationship was developing between the missionaries and this African chief.  And as the African chief was waiting outside one of the huts, on a tree was a mirror.  And so, the old chief walked up to it and looked at his reflection and he could see the hideous paint on his face and some of the evil icons that were inscribed down the face and the mud matted in the hair and he took one look at it and he jumped back in horror.  And he said to the missionary, "Who's that horrible man living inside the tree?"  [Laughter] The missionary had to explain, "There's not a horrible man living inside the tree.  You've just seen your own face."  The chief would not believe it.  "That is not me.  That is not my reflection."  He wouldn't believe it until the chief could actually take the mirror with his own hand and move it around and see indeed it was his reflection.

Then the chief wanted to buy the mirror.  The missionary said, "Not interested in selling it."  Basically, the chief begged him, missionary conceded, sold him the mirror and the chief holding the mirror said, "Never again will this thing be able to make those faces at me."  Threw it down and broke it into little pieces.  He did not want who he was seen any longer.  It showed him the truth.

Jesus came and in his perfect righteousness showed the utter sinfulness of mankind.

And all mankind could do is get rid of that guy.  Get rid of Jesus, because Jesus came and showed them the perfect standard of righteousness(ph).  It's sort of like if you're in a movie theater and you'll grow accustomed to the dark and you walk outside and now your eyes are accustomed to the dark.  It's so bright.  You go, "Oh get rid of that light.  I've got to get -- turn off that light."  The Bible says, "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."  It shows them up.

Look at Verse 19.  I'll take you to the third statement.  "The world hates you.  The world hates you because the world hates God.  The world hates you because you have defected from the world."  Verse 19 says, "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."

Did you get the message?  You don't do what the world does any longer, you don't live like the world lives any longer.  You have decided, "I'm going to follow Christ."  Jesus said effectively, "Salvation is I've chosen you out of the world, which on a practical basis means you have defected saying to them, 'I don't want to live this way any longer.  I'm not really a part of what you're into any longer.  I'm following this Jesus from now on.'"  And because you're not of them any longer, being chosen out of them, the world hates you because you have defected.

Paul wrote to Timothy and said, "All those who lived godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."  If you live godly, you'll suffer persecution and here is why.  Whenever you lead the ranks of the world, you don't party anymore, you don't live like that anymore, you don't do that stuff anymore.  Often times, the world will misinterpret that as you having a superiority complex.  "Who do you think you are?  You think you're better than us now?  Oh, you go to church now and you pray now."  They will misinterpret your following of Christ is having a superiority complex because you're not walking like they're walking.

Did you know that the guy who invented the umbrella, his name was Jonas Hanway.  The first time he sported his umbrella in the rain, people threw rocks at him.  They didn't like anybody being different than they were having something better than they have.  So, they sought to do away with him.  You've left the rank and file of the world.  You don't live like that any longer.  You have defected.

Down in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, a true story.  Every year, there's a church in Myrtle Beach that puts three crosses out in front of the church on church property.  Now, what they do, they do it at Good Friday and they have three crosses, a big one in the center, two smaller ones in the sides and they wrap the crosses in black cloth for Good Friday, they take it off and they put a white cloth on it for Easter.  They've done it for years.  Recently, the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce wrote the church a letter saying, "You've got to take down the crosses.  We've gotten a lot of letters about these crosses."  And the letter explained, "Now, if you take the crosses inside the church, nobody will care.  But as long as you have them on display outside the church where everybody can see them," the letter said, "they are offensive to this community."

Now, I can't prove it, but I will just guarantee you the ACLU is behind that one.  I just guarantee it.  Separation of church and state, you can't have it so anybody can see it.  Place it inside the church, no problem.  Place it outside the church, it's offensive.  You know what, they're right.

The Bible says, "The message of the cross is an offense to those who are what?  Perishing."   People who are dying, perishing eternally on their way to hell will look at the cross because it reminds them of the perfect righteousness of Christ, the perfection of his being and the fact that he died for our sins, and that brings great consternation.  You've defected.  They will misinterpret that as you being superior over them and with Jesus, they try to get rid of him.

Fourth and finally we close with this, the world hates you, number one.  The world hates you because it hates God, that's number two.  The world hates you because you've defected from it and number four, the world hates you, but there's good news.

Now, I want to leave this for last because in a message like this, typically you don't go, "What a great uplifting message today.  The world like hates me."  So you're wondering, "Is there any consolation at all in any of this?"  Yes, there is.  There are three things that are really good.  Number one, you're in good company.  Did you know that?  When you're hated for the sake of Christ, you stand with Christ, Verse 18, "They hated you because they hated Me."  You're in good company.  You identify with Jesus, in fact, I would even say, "If you're hounded in hassle because you're a Christian, it proves you are a Christian.  It demonstrates that you are a believer because you're willing to suffer for his name.  Well, it just means you marginalizes, or scolded, or people laugh at your bumper sticker, whatever it might be.

This is what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you."

So, think of that.  When you're persecuted, you stand with Moses who was hounded in hassle by Pharaoh.  When people hate you because you live godly, you stand in the ranks of Isaiah, the Prophet, who was sewn into, or Jeremiah, the Prophet, who was thrown in a well, a dungeon, or Elijah, the Prophet, who was hounded by Jezebel and Ahab, and you stand with Jesus Christ himself.  So, number one, you're in good company.  The world hates you but there's good news, you're in good company.

Number two, you have a good resource.  You have a good resource.  Look at Verse 25, "But this happened," Jesus' said this happened, all of this hatred, all of this animosity, "this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'"  What's he doing?  He's going back into the Old Testament, here's Psalm 69, Psalm 35, and Psalm 69 where David said, "They hated me without a cause," and Jesus takes that verse from his ancestor, David, brings it all the way to the present time and says, "Now, what I want you to know is all of this hatred was predicted.  This is simply a fulfillment of what God predicted would happen to the Prophets and to David."

And I don't know about you, but it brings me great comfort when I know that God knew about my situation before I was getting into it especially if it's a bad situation.  I go, "Oh, no!"  God says, "Hush, it's okay.  It's predicted.  I knew all about it.  I'm in control."  The resource of the Scripture gives you that kind of perspective and comfort because it shows you God knew all about it from the beginning.  Do you know that this is exactly how the early church comforted themselves when they were in persecution?

Acts Chapter 4, "A law was brought forth, you can't preach the Gospel in the City of Jerusalem any longer or you'll be arrested."  Well, they did it anyway.  The apostles did it and they got hounded in hassle and they were getting arrested.  So, they got together and this is how they prayed, this is Acts 4, "Lord, your God, you made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in it.  Who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, 'Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing."  The people gathered together with their rulers against the Lord and against his anointed, and they continue.  Truly, Jared, Pontius Pilate, the people and this city have gathered together against us and against Christ.

In other words, the Bible predicted the very hot water we're now experiencing and that brought them comfort because of the resource.  So, you're in good company.  You have a good resource, this scripture get to know it, get to read it, get to understand it.

And, here's the third good thing.  There's a good chance some will believe.  There's a good chance some will believe.  Okay, the world hates you, but some like yourself, will be chosen out of the world will believe because of your witness.

I close with this Verse, Verse 20, "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."  See, there's a chance.  There's an if, a little word but it's big in our context.  If they listen to me, they'll listen to you.  There's a chance though the majority of the world wants nothing to do with the Authentic Gospel Message.  There's a chance that some will believe and we live for those few.

It's what gets us up in the morning.  It's what keeps us sowing the seed of the Gospel knowing that some of it is going to take root.  And I've got to tell you something, the joy of a few coming to believe outweighs the majority who says no to it.  You're in good company.  You have a good resource and there's a good chance that some will believe and to me, that is consolation.  How thankful I am that Jesus gave to them the truth, the balance.  You're my friends, delighted to call you my friends, but as my friends, you've got to know that I've got enemies and my enemies hate my friends.  Welcome to discipleship.

I want to close with reading to you something.  You know that one of the greatest statements ever, was made by Peter, right, when Jesus said, "Well, who do you say that I am?"  Remember what Peter said?  He said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."  Oftentimes, churches will use that statement before they'll baptize anyone, they want to hear that confession verbally out of a candidate for baptism's mouth where the person will say, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Now, let me read to you an explanation of that that was written.  When you said Jesus was the Son of God, you declared, "I am not an atheist who says God doesn't exist.  I am not an agnostic who says I don't know if God exist."  When you said you believe that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, you were declaring, "I am not an idolater that worships images of wood, stone or gold.  I don't worship my dead ancestors as in Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism.  I am not a nature worshiper like the Hindus.  I am not a fire worshiper like the Zoroastrians."  When you said that you believe that Jesus was the Son of the Living God, you declared, "I am no polytheist who says there are many gods."  When you said that you believe Jesus to be the Son of God, you were saying you were not a pantheist that says God is all.  That you were not a deist that thinks God created the world and never involved himself in its problems.  That you're not a uniformist who believes that all things continue as they were from the beginning.  That you're not a modernist who denies the virgin birth.

When you said you believe Jesus was Christ, you declared, "I am not a non-believing Jewish person who denies Jesus as the Messiah.  I am not a futurist who yet looks for a Messiah.  I am not a theosophist who follows the Baha'i or the Mohammedan cults that thinks Jesus is only one of God's many witnesses."  When you said you believe in Jesus, you were saying your faith was in Him, not Buddha, not Confucius, not Mohammed, or anyone else.

When you said, "I believe," you said, "I accept the Scriptures because faith in Jesus is the direct result of the testimony of the Bible."  When you said, "I believe," you were declaring yours was a personal faith.  It wasn't inherited, it wasn't forced on you, but it was fully and personally confessed.  In other words, you drew a line in the sand, you declared that every one outside of Jesus Christ was wrong and you declared to the world that unless they turn from their sins and receive Christ the Savior, they will be condemned and this usually doesn't go down real well.

That sums up everything Jesus just said.  If you truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and all that that implies, that won't go down really well.  If on the other hand you say, "Everybody is the same.  All roads lead to God, yada, yada, yada," you'll have everyone love you.  Let me end just by saying this, I would rather have God as my friend in the world, all of the world is my enemy than everybody in the world is my friend and God is my enemy.

Father in Heaven, thank you for the truth given to us by Jesus, telling his friends that though they have that honor of bearing the title that Jesus himself has enemies and that Jesus' enemies won't like Jesus' friends.  Because of the narrowness of the Gospel, the narrow way, not the broad way, the only way through Jesus, that's the one you sent into this world.

So, to reject your Savior, your Son, your solution, is to ultimately and totally reject you.  Thank you Lord, thank you for the exception to the rule, for the some who believe, for the if clause that says some will come.  And thank you for those who have.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

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10/25/2009
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Believe:879
John 20:30-31
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Is your faith in need of bolstering? Do you find yourself saying "Help my unbelief?" The book of John presents a unique, up close and personal look at the life of Christ, focusing on Jesus as God Incarnate. As we dive into a thorough study of each of John's 879 verses, we'll walk with disciples who were eyewitnesses of His ministry, His death, and His resurrection, and we'll experience abundant life in His name.
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11/1/2009
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The World's Most Important Word
John 1:1-5
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It may be difficult to say what the most important word is in any language, but not for the Apostle John. He begins his gospel with the identification of Jesus as, "The Word." Starting with the very beginning of beginnings, John shows us the fundamental truths about the Jesus that he writes about in the rest of this book. The language is simple and unmistakable and yet the truths presented are deep and extremely profound. Let's see how John presents Jesus and Who Jesus is according to one who was closest to Him.
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11/15/2009
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Step Into Son-Light
John 1:6-13
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I love early mornings when sunlight first comes up over the eastern sky. But if you’ve ever had the experience of the sun suddenly shining into your eyes (like when you turn westward while the sun is going down), it's not so pleasant. Most people wince when light is shined in their eyes. Jesus is presented here as being "the light of men" and "shining in darkness". But the world cries out, "Turn off that light!" How can Jesus enlighten your life and how will you respond to Him?
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11/22/2009
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One of a Kind!
John 1:14-18
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It is a mistake to think of Jesus as "one among many" options in the pantheon of deities. He is unique, matchless, unrivaled, singular, and incomparable. From His birth to His Resurrection, there is no one who even comes close to the majestic Christ. Jesus was One-Of-A-Kind! Let’s consider four distinct ways that Jesus was unique and what these mean to us today.
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12/6/2009
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The Greatest Man Meets the Greatest Lamb
John 1:19-34
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Everyone is good at something, maybe even great at something. Maybe you're a great artist or a great mom or even a great leader. Jesus said that John the Baptizer was the greatest man who had ever lived (Matt. 11:11). But John knew Jesus to be the greatest One ever—past, present and future - the Sacrificial Lamb sent to remove sin. Today we discover from John the Baptist how to witness for Christ and we look at the identity and the activity of this most unusual man.
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12/13/2009
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Are You a Follower-Really?
John 1:35-42
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You can't make it through much of the Bible without coming to the word Disciple. Just the four Gospels alone use this term 228 times. Basically a disciple is the follower of a teacher: one who observes, learns, and practices what the teacher shares. We now come to the first time John uses this term in his book. So today we assess ourselves by asking, "Are YOU a follower?" Lets look at five characteristics of the first disciples of Jesus and see if they’re reflected in our lives.
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1/3/2010
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Finding the God Who Found You
John 1:43-51
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When the first disciples encountered Jesus, they chose to follow Him--only to discover that they had already been chosen by Him! Without getting drowned in that theological tide pool, let's consider and marvel at how both of these realities work together. The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects people for salvation while at the same time teaches our responsibility to believe in Christ. Let’s see how both Philip and Nathanael encountered Jesus for the first time.
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1/10/2010
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The Wedding Guest
John 2:1-12
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How cool (and also potentially scary) would it be to have Jesus as a guest at your own wedding! The unnamed couple at the village wedding of Cana had that privilege. Jesus was the wedding guest who brought the best gift. His first miraculous sign was performed while celebrating that marriage. But far more than just attending a nuptial party, Jesus demonstrated who He was in relation to four entities: His mother, the moment, a miracle, and His men.
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1/17/2010
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Trouble in the Temple
John 2:13-22
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A hymn by Charles Wesley begins, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child..." It’s a beautiful song with a beautiful thought. However, Jesus is anything but gentle and mild in John chapter two. Here in the temple at Jerusalem, He displays His righteous anger as He overturns tables and beats the religious businesspeople with whips! But Jesus was using this trouble in the temple to predict a greater sign—the triumph of His own physical temple—His bodily resurrection!
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1/24/2010
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Uncommitted!
John 2:23-25
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These three verses are some of the most unusual in the New Testament. They describe a scene in the life of Jesus that explains His popularity and fame. The response of people to the miracles of Jesus is understandable. What is not readily understandable is Jesus' response to the interested and excited crowd. Though they believed in Him, He was not too energized over their kind of faith. Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus and His mission.
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1/31/2010
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Nick at Nite!
John 3:1-8
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The meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus at night is one of the most famous and compelling stories in Scripture. This man's inner curiosity and spiritual thirst drove him to want to know more. What he heard puzzled and astonished him, but he heard from Jesus' own lips the only way to be saved. Jesus' words here divide all of humanity into two groups: those who are born again and those who are not.
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2/7/2010
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Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition!
John 3:9-21
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For years ABC has aired two different versions of a show called Extreme Makeover. One is a total body makeover designed to enhance the physical beauty of a selected individual. The other is a Home Edition that rebuilds or adds to a struggling family's residence. But only Jesus can give the soul a makeover; only Jesus can ready a person for eternity. Here Jesus answers Nicodemus' question of how a person can have the New Life that comes from the New Birth.
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2/14/2010
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God's Valentine
John 3:16
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Today we take a look at the Bible's most famous verse and probe its depth while preparing to take the Lord's Supper together. Though most everyone knows this verse, John 3:16 is much more than just a slogan; it is a summary statement of God's love through Jesus Christ. This single verse of scripture gives us the salient truths of God's plan of salvation in abridged form. Let's consider God's great plan for us as we unpack it phrase by phrase.
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2/21/2010
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To Grow Up, You Must Grow Down!
John 3:22-30
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"They that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud!" That's what British Puritan John Flavel once said. And that’s how John the Baptist once lived! John the Baptist and his followers provide some great applicational fodder for how Christians should get along and humble themselves before one another and God. For any Christian believer who wants to spiritually grow up and grow strong, he must first grow down.
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2/28/2010
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The Nail Everything Hangs On
John 3:31-36
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Imagine if everything you valued was in a sack, hanging on the wall from one nail. It surely must be a strong nail, or you're lost! If life could all be boiled down to one thing or one word or one most important principle, what would it be? What is the irreducible minimum for everything and everyone? John answers that here, saying that Jesus Christ is the nail that everything hangs on. He determined what has been and what will be. Thus our knowledge of Him and relationship to Him is paramount above everything else.
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3/7/2010
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Refreshment!
John 4:1-14
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You know the feeling of swallowing ice-cold water on a hot day or after a savory meal—it's refreshing! That cool, invigorating sip revitalizes you from the inside out and makes you say, "Ahh!" Well, that experience is not limited to the physical realm, but is even more satisfying in the spiritual realm when dealing with Living Water. Jesus came to give thirst-quenching spiritual life to every parched soul on the planet. When was the last time you drank deeply?
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3/14/2010
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How to Lead People to Water
John 4:10-30
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The world is thirsty and doesn't even know it, or won't admit it, or will look to be satisfied by everything else but Jesus Christ. So your job and mine is to lead them to water (living water, that is). Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates perhaps the best approach for personal evangelism to be found anywhere. Leading someone to the place of spiritual satisfaction is a process that rests upon two pillars—the pillar of attitude and the pillar of approach:
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3/21/2010
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What God Really Wants
John 4:20-24
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Worship conferences, worship seminars and worship experiences abound within the landscape of the American church, but in all these there's something that seems to be always lacking—worship is confined to the activity of singing songs. When the subject is brought up in this chapter, Jesus talks plainly and openly about true worship: what it is and what it isn't. Let's explore these few verses to discover what God is seeking after and how to be part of fulfilling that.
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3/28/2010
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Spiritual Farming 101
John 4:28-42
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Farmers live for the harvest season--a time when their crops are taken in and profits are made. But crops don’t grow on their own. Seeds must be sown and plants must be garnered by a whole group of active farm workers. God is the head Farmer and we are His farmhands, all working together to produce a bumper-crop of people who believe that Jesus is the Savior--Are you in?
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4/18/2010
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Everyone Needs a Faith-Lift!
John 4:43-54
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Like any muscle in our physical body, our faith too must be exercised in order for it to develop. Faith is developed in virtually every circumstance in life, but especially in hard times. Peter put it best, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold" (1 Peter 1:7). Let's look at a real-life story of one who came to Jesus in his trial and had his faith lifted to a higher dimension.
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4/25/2010
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Healing Misery with Mercy
John 5:1-16
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One of Jesus' most distinguishing characteristics in His earthly ministry was His mercy toward people who were hurting. This is not astonishing, for the prophet Micah announced that "God delights in mercy" (Micah 7:18). Jesus standing among the squalid misery of sickness and hopelessness while at a feast in Jerusalem is a perfect setting to show how Christians can show mercy to a world in misery. But be warned: not everyone will be sympathetic to your cause!
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5/23/2010
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Like Father, Like Son
John 5:16-24
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The most important question you could ever ask is not, "Who am I?" but rather, "Who is Christ?" That was the supreme question Jesus presented to His disciples when He said, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Jesus made the most astonishing claim ever when He confronted the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem here in John 5. What do these claims have to do with us today? Absolutely everything!
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5/30/2010
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Everyone Lives Forever
John 5:25-29
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My mom used to wake me up early every morning with her sweet voice saying, "Rise and Shine!" It took a few times but I eventually got up out of bed. As Jesus declares that He will be in charge of the future judgment, He too will usher the call to everyone who has died to "Rise up!" But not everyone will rise up to shine; some will rise up to suffer. Let’s consider three inevitable and unalterable truths about the future for all of us: We will all die, we will all be judged, and we will all rise again to live forever... but where?
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6/6/2010
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Why Should You Believe?
John 5:30-47
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The theme of John's gospel is "believe." The whole reason he wrote this book is so that people who read it will believe in Jesus (see John 20:31). But why should they believe? And even more applicable, why should we believe? After all, the events of the New Testament are over 2,000 years removed from us today. Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders in John 5 tells us why we should believe. Like a skilled lawyer, Jesus calls upon four witnesses to testify to His claims and these four give the reasons for our believing in Jesus Christ.
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6/13/2010
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Lessons From a Picnic
John 6:1-14
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This story ranks in the "top ten" of the most famous miracles of Jesus Christ. In fact this is the most famous of all His miracles as it alone is recorded by all four gospel accounts. But this is far more than a Sunday school tale. This extraordinary picnic was not just a free meal for five thousand folks; it provided lessons for both ancient and modern disciples. Here are four profound truths that emerge from this lakeside lunch.
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6/20/2010
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What Storm Goers Need to Know
John 6:15-21
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Have you ever been on the ocean in a raging storm? If so, you know that a well-trained crew follows an immediate protocol until the storm is over. Their knowledge and experience about violent weather are invaluable for those who want to survive. Using the story of Jesus walking on the waves to His disciples, let’s discover a few things about the stormy trials of life.
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7/4/2010
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The Right Thing, The Wrong Way
John 6:22-29
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Our text reads that crowds of people came "seeking Jesus." That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? And yet Jesus challenges them as to their motive because they were seeking Him (the right thing) in order to satisfy themselves only (the wrong motive). Let’s consider three monumental truths about how people interact with spiritual things in general and Jesus Christ in particular. Let’s also reconsider the starting point for anyone who wants anything to do with Christ.
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7/11/2010
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Wonder Bread!
John 6:30-50
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The Hostess Company has for years advertised that its Wonder bread "helps build strong bodies 12 ways" and that just two slices has the calcium of eight ounces of milk and the fiber of 100% whole wheat. Wow! The crowd that Jesus was speaking to would have loved that! But our Lord presents something to them far greater than what they were wanting. He knew what they needed.
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7/18/2010
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Plain Truths About the Bread of Life
John 6:51-71
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Mark Twain once remarked that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up its boots!" This section of John's Gospel has generated much confusion and misunderstanding. Even Jesus' original audience had trouble understanding His meaning, and when they did, they found the truth was difficult to bear. These "hard truths," however, are "the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Let's look at these four realities today.
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8/1/2010
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Seeing Jesus Through the Fog
John 7:1-13
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There was always a fog surrounding Jesus! It was a fog of uncertainty, of unbelief, and of conflicting opinion. He was misunderstood about both His mission and His message. His friends, His family, and His foes were often bewildered about who He was and what He was doing. That remains true even today. But in this passage our view becomes clearer. Jesus had clearly defined objectives that He reveals here and they are extremely practical for us today.
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8/8/2010
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Follow Jesus But Don't Be Religious
John 7:14-24
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Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people. He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas. Christ made it clear that He hadn’t come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father. He didn’t give people another “system of beliefs and practices”; instead He said that He Himself was the way, truth, and life. In this public confrontation, we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious.
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8/15/2010
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Standing by a Waterfall (Dying of Thirst)
John 7:25-53
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All the diverse and assorted experiences offered by this world can never satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul. What we really want isn't what we really need. The rest of John chapter 7 illustrates this truth. In the midst of a crowd of people clamoring for deep spiritual satisfaction stands the only One who can provide it. He offers them the drink that really satisfies and all but a few refuse it, preferring rather to die of thirst. How painfully ironic!
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8/22/2010
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Scribbling on the Ground
John 8:1-11
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Can you imagine what a surviving copy of Jesus' autograph would be worth today? Or what about a letter to His disciples? The fact is, there is no existing document or copy of anything Jesus ever wrote. We only have this story of Him scribbling something in transient dust on the Temple stones. Though John doesn't tell what Jesus wrote that day, his account does reveal a lot about Jesus Himself and how He interacted with three different kinds of folks.
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8/29/2010
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Blinded by the Light
John 8:12-20
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When the sun shines right in your eyes, your immediate inclination is to squint, turn away, or put sunglasses on. Light can be blinding! Though light penetrates our world, providing illumination and energy for our very existence, big doses of it can be difficult to handle. That's true spiritually as well. Jesus, by His teaching and work, illuminated this world darkened by sin. Some rejoiced in that light, able to see where they were going. But others, who'd been so accustomed to spiritual darkness, could only wince when Jesus was around.
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9/5/2010
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The Worst Way & Best Way to Die
John 8:21-30
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One person put it this way, "Death is the big flaw. Sometimes we can postpone it, lessen its physical pains, deny its existence—but we can't escape it!" Since that is universally true, why don't people take death seriously enough to plan for it? While we are alive in this world, everyone should be thinking more about the next. But what's the best (and worst) way to die?
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9/19/2010
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The Best Way & Worst Way to Live
John 8:31-36
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Everyone has an opinion on what "The Good Life" is. For some, it's financial independence. For others, it’s autonomy from government control. For still others, it’s the ability to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it. Jesus offers a different kind of freedom and a better brand of life. Here Jesus tells us what the best way to live really is: It’s the freedom to be a genuine disciple. And He tells us what the worst way to live really is: It’s the slavery of a sinful lifestyle. Today consider how free you really are and what areas of life you may still be in bondage to.
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9/26/2010
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The Devil's DNA
John 8:37-47
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Your body has 100 trillion cells. Inside each one is a nucleus and in each nucleus are DNA molecules. DNA is like an instruction manual for life with densely coded information telling each cell what to do. A simple paternity test would prove that my father was really my father. Here Jesus gives His audience a spiritual paternity test that reveals their spiritual father to be the devil himself. No matter what your physical ancestry, you can always tell one's spiritual heritage.
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10/3/2010
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Who IS This Guy?
John 8:48-59
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Jesus had friends and He had enemies. But besides those, He also had some "frenemies" (enemies who pretended to be friends). To this crowd who at first pretended to believe (v. 31) Jesus is both confrontational and controversial. This paragraph highlights three possible identities of Jesus: two of them were his enemies' accusations and one was Jesus' own claim.
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10/10/2010
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Life Hurts! Where's God?
John 9:1-12
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"Why is there so much pain in the world?" is the most frequently asked question ever! We hate it when we, or those we love, are in pain. Today we see Jesus confront a hurting world. As we do, consider these words by Elizabeth Elliot (whose husband was murdered): "If God is in charge and loves us, then whatever is given is subject to His control and is meant ultimately for our joy."
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10/17/2010
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The Truth About Your Neighbors
John 9:13-34
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Those of us who are Christians live in a sea of unbelievers who work with us, live next to us, shop where we shop, and send their kids to the same schools. Some have a mild case of unbelief disguised by religious practices. Others are more demonstrable in their agnosticism or atheism. Let's watch a local Jerusalem neighborhood struggle against faith in spite of clear evidence.
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10/24/2010
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Got Any Blind Spots?
John 9:35-41
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When you drive, you encounter "blind spots"—it could be part of your own car or it could be a tree that hides traffic on the other side. Those blind spots hinder both progress and ultimately, safety. When Jesus healed a blind man in Jerusalem, the same man was also healed of his spiritual blindness. But others who thought their spiritual perception was keen were as blind as a bat! As we consider this story, can you think of any blind spots in your spiritual journey?
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10/31/2010
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The Good Shepherd (and a bunch of happy sheep!)
John 10:1-10
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This is one of the most beloved passages to be found anywhere in Scripture. But it's not a stand-alone passage: The healing of the blind man in chapter 9 was more than a miracle. It was part of the process of Jesus forming His flock. The leadership had cast the healed man out of the synagogue. Jesus found him, accepted him, saved him, and placed him in His own fold.
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11/21/2010
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What's So Great About the Good Shepherd?
John 10:11-21
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"What's so great about being a Christian?" some people ask. The answer lies in the kind of care, provision, and protection we get from Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Have you ever stopped to make a list of the benefits that are yours as a follower of Christ? Consider this short list of advantages that you, as a child of God, have. When was the last time you thanked Him for being your Shepherd? This would be a great week to do that!
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12/5/2010
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To BElieve or Not to BElieve...
John 10:22-42
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"In all unbelief there are two things: a good opinion of one's self and a bad opinion about God."— Horatius Bonar. It's true, isn't it? Humanism is man-centered and rejects God's existence or His relevance. But Jesus appealed to two things: the plain evidence of His supernatural works and the testimony of those who witnessed them. Jesus here asserts His deity, and the reaction is predictable—some believed while others did not believe. Which camp do you fall into?
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1/9/2011
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The Great Physician's Patient Dies
John 11:1-16
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When a doctor loses a patient on the operating table, there is a deep sense of remorse and sadness in the surgical theater. Doctors are trained to save lives but sometimes even the best trained physicians are unable to control complications that lead to death. But here we discover that Christ, the Great Physician, not only knows that His patient is sick--He allows him to die! Here are three principles about Divine Medicine that we can all learn.
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1/16/2011
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A Tale of Two Sisters
John 11:17-32
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In 1859 Charles Dickens wrote his famous work, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The story before us is set in Bethany near Jerusalem and highlights the personal relationship that two sisters had with Jesus Christ. Their broken hearts provide an excellent platform to consider how Christ deals with people in grief and loss. Let's actively probe not only their responses but ours to the incredible promise Jesus makes.
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1/23/2011
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The Strangest Funeral Ever
John 11:33-44
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According to one source, there are approximately 2 million funerals in America per year, which means that about 5,479 funerals take place every single day! Most of those funerals are pretty typical: a formal service followed by an interment. But the funeral service we're looking at was really different--and not just because of a resurrection. Here Jesus does three things that are pretty normal for most people at a funeral, but strikingly odd for Jesus.
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1/30/2011
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What to Do with Jesus?
John 11:45-57
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Any lawyer can tell you that whenever the star witness is a resurrected corpse, you have a pretty good case! But Lazarus being alive from the dead doesn’t seem to persuade everyone. And so the big issue becomes what shall we do with Jesus? The decisions made here set the clock in motion for an impending hate crime—the crucifixion of Christ. But from heaven’s vantage point, this is all part of God’s plan for redemption. Let’s see the responses and how we can make a difference.
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2/6/2011
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A Meal to Reveal the Heart
John 12:1-11
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If you were to step into the home of Simon at Bethany (Mark 14:3) on that night, you would've seen Jesus and His disciples along with Lazarus and His two sisters reclining at a low table for a meal in honor of Christ. But if you were to step into the hearts of those people, you would discover they were all very different from each other. Those inside the house and outside represent the gamut of feelings about Jesus—from adoring love to intense hatred. What a complicated meal!
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2/13/2011
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A Day, a Donkey, a Deliverer, and a Decision
John 12:12-19
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2000 years ago, on the final Sunday of Jesus’ earthly life before His crucifixion, He did the most unusual thing—He sat on a donkey and was carried into the city of Jerusalem in parade fashion. This formal presentation of Him as Deliverer was both profound and predicted. What’s the significance of such an act as this? What overarching principles emerge for us today? We’ll dig in and discover them, but today you’ve got to write them down yourself:
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2/20/2011
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Living the Right Life
John 12:20-26
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If this sermon was a book and I wanted to sell lots of copies, the title would cause it to fail. Now if it were entitled "Living the High Life" or "Living the Successful Life," then I may have a winner. But many have lived with both success and riches who didn't live right! So what is the right life? Or to frame it with a better question: What kind of life is most pleasing to God? Through a series of paradoxes, John gives us the answer—it wasn't the answer most people are looking for!
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2/27/2011
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Cross-Culture
John 12:27-36
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The term cross-culture emerges from the social sciences and typically refers to interaction of one culture or language with another. But that's not how I'm using it today. I'm thinking of it in the biblical sense, the salvation sense. Jesus' whole life was immersed in the culture of the cross and He referred to His impending death on the cross as "His hour." Let's consider today the culture of the cross of Christ: what it meant to Jesus personally and the world ultimately.
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3/6/2011
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Believe It or Not!
John 12:37-50
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Most of you reading this are believers. Some are not. Both are dangerous positions to take but for different reasons—vastly different reasons! This paragraph in John's Gospel is the summary of all that has been written, from chapters 1 through 13. It reviews the two different responses people have to Jesus and then gives us Jesus' own synopsis on faith and unbelief. Today you will be able to understand the real differences and consequences of faith and unbelief.
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3/13/2011
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A Night Unforgettable
John 13:1-5
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Some days are frozen in time because of the magnitude of an event. You will always remember September 11, 2001 and where you were when the towers fell. The night America bombed Baghdad or the night John Lennon was murdered may be permanent memories captured in your mind. This was the final night Jesus spent with His own disciples and it would be unforgettable. Let’s discover how what seem like ordinary moments can be extraordinary appointments.
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3/20/2011
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Basin Theology 101
John 13:6-17
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At the final Passover meal that Jesus shared with His closest friends, He gave new meaning to the bread and wine, using them to point to His upcoming sacrificial death on the cross. Today we share Communion as a church family and reflect on that meal, as well as the lessons Jesus was teaching His first followers. After dinner Jesus took a basin of water and began to wash the feet of his students and taught them life principles about stooping, cleansing and serving.
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3/27/2011
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Betrayed!
John 13:18-30
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Relationships can withstand an enormous amount of pressure, but betrayal is sure to end most. The old English word means to hand over or to deliver. Think of it: while Jesus was about to deliver the world from sin and its destruction, Judas was about to deliver the Savior over to His enemies. If you've ever felt betrayed by someone, this study will have special application to you.
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4/10/2011
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A Brand New Way of Life!
John 13:31-35
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To follow Jesus is to have a brand new way of life. When these twelve men sitting around the dinner table started hanging around Jesus, they had no idea just how new and different their lives would become. At this final meal on that last night, they were still learning just how new their lives should be. (Jesus can still teach old dogs new tricks!) As present-day followers of Christ, let’s consider three aspects of life that become new once we become His disciples.
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4/17/2011
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F.A.Q.
John 13:36-38
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An old Persian Proverb reads, "It's harder to ask a sensible question than to supply a sensible answer." Many times our questions to God are reactive—based on a sort of knee-jerk reaction to painful circumstances. Peter asked Jesus two questions of this sort. But whenever we ask God questions we must hang around to get the supplied answers. The questions Peter asked are similar to ones we frequently ask. Let's consider and apply Jesus' outstanding answer
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5/1/2011
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A Theology for Messy Lives
John 14:1-6
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Life can be pretty messy sometimes: plans fail, people leave, money diminishes, and taxes rise. There are plenty of reasons to be troubled these days but there are better reasons not to be! Life was about to get real messy for those disciples around that Jerusalem dinner table. At times like that, there are some basic instructions we need to fall back on so our hearts inside us won't be swallowed up by the mess around us.
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5/8/2011
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How Can I Know God?
John 14:7-11
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What a thought—that a mere human can know God! The agnostic asserts this is impossible. The atheist insists that the very idea is an arrogant and purely metaphysical pursuit. But one of the reasons Jesus came was to reveal God's character and nature clearly and perfectly! Let's consider two roadblocks to knowing God and four resources that help us know Him better.
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5/29/2011
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Privileges of God's Employees
John 14:12-14
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Most companies have benefits for employees: things like overtime pay, health insurance, and sick pay. In 2 Corinthians 6:1, Paul calls us "workers together with Him" (NLT renders it "God's partners"). We have been called to a high and lofty task—to be His representatives here on earth. You might say we're part of the "family business." So what has God called us to do? And how has He provided for us in terms of resources? In short, what are the benefits of being God's employees?
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6/5/2011
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Four Part Harmony
John 14:15-18
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Some of the best moments on American Idol aren't the solo performances, but when all the singers join together and blend their voices in harmony. There's nothing sweeter than well-trained voices blended together in first, thirds, and fifths. Spiritual harmony is much the same—when believers blend with the triune Godhead there is an alignment that results in a deep sense of fulfillment. And what is the note we are to sing in this spiritual song? It is the note of loving obedience!
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6/12/2011
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Promises, Promises!
John 14:19-26
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Someone once mused, "Promises may get friends, but it's performance that keeps them." No wonder God has so many friends! He makes promises and keeps them. On this final night that Jesus spent with His friends, as both sorrow and confusion assailed them, Jesus made several promises that would sustain them in the days, months, and years ahead. What about you? Will you dare to trust the promises of God? It's the only way to see if they really work.
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6/26/2011
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Peace Where You Least Expect It
John 14:27-31
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On countless American gravestones this epitaph could be written: Hurried, Worried, Buried. What a sad way to live! Fear, anxiety, and distress have literally become part of our national culture. Odd, isn't it? Though we have such abundance in this country, most don't experience abundant life—especially as Jesus described it. Sure, everyone has his or her share of trouble and anxieties, but let's consider one of the greatest gifts Jesus gives to followers—the gift of peace!
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7/3/2011
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Life-Lessons from Grape-Growers - Part 1
John 15:1-7
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My parents grew grapes on their little plot of land in Southern California. There weren't many, but enough for me to know that getting fruit at harvest depended on three things: the solid connection of branch to vine, the vigilant care of the workers, and the consistency of those things over time. Jesus, walking with the disciples toward the Garden of Gethsemane, gives life lessons to His men using the familiar example of growing grapes. With that analogy in mind, let's consider the three ways our relationship to God is described by Jesus.
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7/10/2011
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Life-Lessons From Grape-Growers - Part 2
John 15:8-11
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As we grow older, we mature. In our spiritual lives we should become spiritually mature. The Bible calls it being fruitful. Spiritual fruit is the indication that we're truly connected to Christ. But there are others, as we'll see today. Last week we examined how the relationship with Christ is described (Connected to Christ, Cared for by the Father, and Consistent Over Time). Today let's consider how this relationship is demonstrated. When we're rightly connected to God we'll be:
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7/17/2011
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What a Friend We Have in Jesus
John 15:12-17
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We can get through almost anything in life with friends to share our sorrow and divide our grief. A Chinese word for friend is peng-yu and it has a much fuller meaning than in English. It means "one who brings completion and sums up beauty." The ancient Hebrews saw true friendship as an ideal to pursue and a blessing to enjoy. In these final moments with His followers, Jesus uses a most tender term for their relationship—they were friends! What does that friendship look like?
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7/31/2011
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Two Thirds Is Not Enough
John 15:26-16:15
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We love God the Father who created us and God the Son who redeemed us, but what about the Holy Spirit? We hear His name a lot, but who is He? What exactly does He do? What does He want from us? The Holy Spirit is the "quiet One," active in the life of believers but sometimes not acknowledged as being vital. Oswald Chambers noted, "The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a guest in a house. He invades everything!" Today, we consider Him and His role in our lives.
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8/7/2011
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The Holy Hound of Heaven
John 16:5-11
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Having understood Who the Holy Spirit is (Person not just power; Deity not just dignitary) we now find out what He does in the world of unbelieving people. Since the greatest gift God ever gave to the world was His only Son (John 3:16) it stands to reason that the greatest sin one can commit is to reject the Son (John 16:9). How does the Holy Spirit both sentence the world as prosecutor and lead people away from judgment? And what role do we play in all of this?
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8/14/2011
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When Sorrow Turns to Joy
John 16:16-22
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The flamboyant baseball-legend-turned-preacher Billy Sunday stated, "If you have no joy in your religion, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere!" That's not to say that life is all laughs. Hardly! Jesus anticipated His followers' deep sorrow. He predicted it. But He also assured them that their experience of sadness would be eclipsed by a greater experience of lasting joy.
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8/21/2011
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How to Send Knee-Mail
John 16:23-28
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Today you can be anywhere in the world and send or receive messages digitally via email. Sending email has eclipsed traditional mail for years now. Sending knee-mail is similar (you can be anywhere)—but with better results! You don't need wifi or a modem; you don't need an electronic device or a computer. Before Jesus left His disciples, He wanted them to get "online" with the Father and stay connected through the simple yet powerful means of prayer.
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9/4/2011
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I've Fallen, but I CAN Get Up!
John 16:29-33
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I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail! So said President Woodrow Wilson. Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves and is not surprised by our weaknesses. We all fall and fail, even though we may commit to standing strong. What can we learn about ourselves and our God in such valleys? Even more, what kind of restoration can we hope for after our bout with failure?
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9/18/2011
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Holy Eavesdropping
John 17:1
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Imagine if you could sit and listen to Jesus talking to His Father—what would Jesus say to Him? In this prayer (which comprises all of John 17) we step onto holy ground. His instruction to His followers is now over. His preparation of them is done. He now turns His attention heavenward to talk directly to His Father about Himself, about His disciples, and about His future church. This prayer is unique for four reasons:
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9/25/2011
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The Gifts That Keep On Giving
John 17:1-5
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It's possible to give without loving but it's impossible to love without giving— Richard Braunstein. Part of God's nature is that He shows His love by His generous gifts. "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3: 16). Here, in the opening lines of Jesus' prayer to His Father, He requests a gift from His Father and acknowledges three other gifts—two given to the Son by the Father, and one given by the Son to us. These are the gifts that keep on giving!
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10/2/2011
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How Followers Are Formed
John 17:6-10
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Okay, so which is it? Did I choose God or did God choose me? Perspective is everything! If you look at it from the divine viewpoint, you'll say God chose. If you're looking at it from a human viewpoint, you'll say we do the choosing. But why can't both be true? I suppose you can sit around, scratch your head, and try to ponder such imponderables, or you can sigh happily and say with a grateful heart, "I'm elated that He chose me!" But you should also ask yourself another question while you're at it—What am I going to do about it now?
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10/9/2011
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Missionaries or Monasteries?
John 17:11-19
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How can you leave your mark on the world? Most everyone wants to be remembered for some contribution made to society. Well, Jesus wants us to do that, too. In fact, He prays for that. God wants you to make an imprint on life's road so people will say, "Hey look! God's kids were here!" We can't do that by isolating ourselves. We have marching orders!
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10/23/2011
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Listen Up! Jesus is Praying—for YOU!
John 17:20-26
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What's God's general will for you? Look no further than this text! Now as we listen to Jesus pray for us, we also find what our priorities in life are to be. These words are the "Last Will and Testament" of Jesus Christ. So pay close attention and you'll get it right from the heart of Jesus Himself.
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10/30/2011
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I've Got It Under Control
John 18:1-11
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Sometimes life appears to be spinning out of control. Events happen we didn't plan for, people do things we didn't expect, we find ourselves in places we never thought we'd be in. But though you can't always control what happens to you, you are responsible for what happens in you (attitudes and responses). What do we really believe about God's authority and power in our lives? Is there ever a time when God can't say, "I've got it under control"?
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11/20/2011
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The Darkest Night!
John 18:12-27
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On a dark spring night in Jerusalem, it seemed everyone was against Jesus Christ. The religious system had long been opposed to and jealous of His burgeoning ministry. The mock trial designed to get rid of Jesus was only going through the technical motions to achieve their end. And Peter, Jesus' closest friend, was in a downward process of disassociating himself from Him. But in the midst of the darkest night, the sunrise of God's grace was beginning to shine!
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1/8/2012
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A King, a Kingdom, and a Courtroom
John 18:28-40
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What kind of a King is Jesus, and what is the nature of His Kingdom? And what does it mean to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done"? These are the questions faced in the text before us. As Jesus nears the cross, a nation denies His reign over them, while a Roman ruler questions Him and then cynically admits his own confusion and despair.
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1/22/2012
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How Do You Handle Jesus?
John 19:1-16
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Pontius Pilate was like every other person who has ever lived. The fundamental question of his life was, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22). Everyone has to deal with Jesus, to decide about Him and His claims. In one setting, we can see how one man (Pilate) was influenced to deal with Jesus in three different ways. These three ways are how many people today still choose to deal with Jesus Christ.
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1/29/2012
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Execution of a King
John 19:17-22
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Regicide is the official word used for the execution of a king. Most countries reserve the stiffest of punishments for subjects or assassins who would kill their royalty. John records the execution of the King of kings on a Roman cross outside the city of Jerusalem. But the rest of Scripture reveals that it was more than an execution; it was sacrifice that brought salvation. The next few weeks, we will consider the cross in depth and what it means for the world and for us.
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2/5/2012
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The Cross on the Billboard of Eternity
John 19:23-24
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Did you know that the cross of Christ was always God's plan from the very beginning? It wasn't a reaction to mankind's rejection of His Son, nor was it an accommodation to a Roman and Jewish miscarriage of justice. It was according to "the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Today we will take a journey back and connect the dots of God's unfolding plan of the cross throughout the ages.
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2/12/2012
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How to Love Your Mother
John 19:25-27
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A mother's love for her children is distinctive and irreplaceable. To watch a child suffer is crushing and almost intolerable for any mom. In this touching scene revealed in three verses, we not only see Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of her Son's cross, we also learn how Jesus cared for His mother. Even from His place of extreme suffering, Jesus was thinking of others and His love for Mary is noteworthy for us.
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2/19/2012
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iThirst
John 19:28-29
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The world is filled with Apple's i-technology, which delivers on its promise to make connectivity and information readily accessible. But there is a deeper need within everyone, a thirst to be right with God, that no app or gadget can fulfill. How ironic that Jesus, the great Thirst-Quencher, would Himself be thirsty. It was part of the great exchange—His temporary thirst enabled yours to be quenched eternally!
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2/26/2012
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It's Done!
John 19:30
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While Jesus was doing His greatest work, He uttered His greatest words! Through the excruciating pain of a tormenting death, Jesus gave the most meaningful statements worthy of careful consideration. John records three of Jesus' seven statements uttered while on the cross. The sixth—and perhaps the most hopeful—is the one we consider today.
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3/4/2012
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Death Under Control
John 19:31-37
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Watching someone you love die is always a heart-wrenching experience, especially when the victim experiences great suffering. For the apostle John, the death of Jesus was likewise difficult-but he saw a glimmer of hope, a silver lining in the dark clouds of death. This death was long ago anticipated and was being carefully monitored from the control center of heaven. Today we see why that's important.
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3/11/2012
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Disciples on the Graveyard Shift
John 19:38-42
Skip Heitzig
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You can find an unending supply of books, pamphlets, and articles on discipleship in Christian churches and bookstores. Many of them will be predictably regimented and conventional, giving solid biblical references and calling Christians to ardently follow Christ—all great stuff. But not everyone's spiritual journey is identical. Some disciples are unexpected, and so is their story. Here are two disciples of Jesus who've been in the background and now step forward to care for the body of Christ after His death. Let's allow their story to inspire us.
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3/18/2012
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A Not-Quite-Empty Tomb
John 20:1-10
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There was a lot of confusion happening on the first Easter morning. The resurrection had happened but it was neither expected nor accepted by all at first. Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples what she saw, and they ran to check out her report. What they saw was compelling evidence of a resurrection, but only one of them really connected all the dots. Let's see why.
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3/25/2012
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Hope Rekindled
John 20:11-18
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When people grieve, they usually run the gamut of the emotional spectrum, from denial to bargaining to despair to anger to eventually hope. Mary Magdalene was in hopeless despair as she stood weeping by the grave of Jesus. The resurrected Christ deals tenderly with this woman as he reveals Himself to her and conveys hope for her future. Let's glean some principles for dealing with brokenhearted people.
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4/1/2012
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From Closed Doors to the Open Road
John 20:19-23
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Our relationship with Jesus isn't a secret to be hoarded; it is a story to be heralded! The disciples were seated behind closed doors (sounds like a lot of churches). Jesus wanted them out, giving away what they had been given. Let's see how these early followers went from panic to peace, from perplexity to purpose, and from protection to power. It's a great journey. Are you up for it?
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4/8/2012
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Rise Up!
John 20:24-31
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The apostle Thomas has been noted for his skeptical attitude. In fact, we refer to a skeptic as a "doubting Thomas." In this message from John 20, we consider four ways Thomas was able to rise up from doubt and become a joyful follower of Jesus.
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4/15/2012
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Gone Fishing! (Relating to a Risen & Returning Lord)
John 21:1-14
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I am not a great fisherman. I don't do it often and when I catch something, it's pure luck! My dad was the opposite—he loved it and was great at it. At least seven of Jesus' disciples were fishermen and here we see them plying their trade after the resurrection. Some beautiful lessons can be discovered about how to live while we wait for Jesus to come back for us.
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4/22/2012
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I Failed! Now What?
John 21:15-19
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One of life's harshest realities is failure. The very sound of the word seems harsh to our sensibilities. We even harbor the age-old axiom, "Failure is not an option!" But failure is an option; in fact, it's a certainty. But discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping-stones to victory. In a post-resurrection interview, Jesus restores Peter with a fresh commission. If you have failed in your spiritual experience (and who hasn't), these principles will inspire.
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4/29/2012
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Final Instructions
John 21:20-25
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As John closes off his singular testimony of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he features some closing words of Jesus and Peter about himself (John). These final sentences provide some instructions for us as we await Christ's return. How should we live in light of who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and when Jesus will return?
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There are 95 additional messages in this series.
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