Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: How many times have we gone through a trial and said, "God, what's going on? I went to church on Sunday. I helped old people. Lord, what's happening? I'm a good person." Hey, if you're going through a trial, welcome to the club. One thing God will try is your faith, which is more precious than gold, to make sure it's genuine. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow. To support this program financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpittmanministries.com. That's alpittmanministries.com. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here is Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: I've entitled this particular message, "Beware of Haters." Amen. Beware of haters. We'll be looking at verses 18-27 thus far in chapter 15. If you recall, Jesus addressed our relationship with Him, secondly our relationship with one another, and now our relationship with the world.

There are two aspects related to the world that Jesus addresses here. One has to do with the love of the world, that which the world loves, and the liability of the world. And so we're going to look at that today. It's a very just to the point teaching from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but He takes us to school once again on this night, the night in which He was betrayed. He took time to teach them some essential things, and they're still essential to us today.

So let's get right into it here. First, the love of the world. Jesus addresses in verses 18 to 21. So the Lord says, and you read along with me in John chapter 15, He says, "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. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

Strong word, "hate." Jesus didn't say they would dislike you a little bit. He said they would hate you. He says in 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. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent me."

The love of the world. The world is full of haters. Those who rejected Christ, loving their own and hating those who are owned by Jesus Christ. I was reading in a recent report dated January the 6th, 2017, from an Italian-based Center for Studies on New Religions. And it stated that 90,000 Christians were killed for their belief worldwide last year, and nearly a third were at the hand of Islamic extremists like ISIS.

Others were killed, it goes on to say, by state and non-state persecutions, including places like North Korea. The study also found that as many as 600 million Christians were prevented from practicing their faith in 2016. Do not take it for granted when you walk through those doors and sit down and hear the Word of God that everybody has this privilege around the world. For what you did today, the simple act of walking in here and what I'm doing right now, would cost us our lives for most of our brothers and sisters on this planet.

The world hates you because they hate Jesus. And according to the world, believers are guilty by association. And the world justifies their hatred because of their love affair with darkness. Jesus indicted the world when He said in John 3:19, "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." People can give you all kind of excuses why they do what they do. Here's the reason Jesus gave: because you love darkness.

We don't want anybody to turn the light on because our deeds are evil. We don't want to hear the truth. And yet Jesus says here, they hated me, they're going to hate you. And yet we have believers many times trying to compromise with the world and trying to get along with the world. But light has no fellowship with darkness, the Bible says.

A lot of believers think somehow they're better than that. But Jesus said, listen, verse 20, "Servant is not greater than his master." And so when we compromise with the world as believers and we try to blend darkness with light, we make ourselves an enemy of the cross. It's always an error to try to somehow compromise the Gospel so that we can let the world in.

James chapter 4, verse 4. James says, "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity—that is, hostility—with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Now having said that, what does James really mean by "friendship with the world"? Does he mean that you have to hate the world, that you have to go into work on Monday and slap your unbelieving boss? "Pastor said knock you out!" No, that's not what it means.

Does it mean that you cannot have unbelieving friends? No. Remember two things. The reputation of Jesus was that He was a friend of sinners. The other thing is "God so loved the world." So what does he mean when he says "friendship with the world"? He's speaking about that Christ-rejecting spirit of the world, a spirit of godlessness which governs the present world we live in.

Its attitudes and opinions, principles, policies inspired by the devil. You say, "Wait a minute, we've got a lot of smart people around the world." But when we shut God out as we have in our educational systems and in our politics and our governing, then it is godless. And then you have to ask yourself, "Where is the inspiration coming from?" It is demonic apart from Christ.

The Bible tells us that the world is under the sway, the influence, of the devil. Ephesians 2, verse 2, and 1 John 5:19 remind us of that very fact. I know a lot of people are praying America will come back to God. I pray America would come back to God, but the world is still under the sway of the enemy. And thus, when you live against the grain of the world, Jesus is letting them know on this night, when you live against the grain of the world, against the spirit of this world, and you honor Christ in your life, you ought to expect persecution.

They hated me, they will also hate you because of my name, because you bear my name. Peter tells us that, gives us some perspective on that in 1 Peter chapter 4. In 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trials which are to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you."

We could stop there and preach on that. How many times have we gone through a trial and said, "God, what's going on? I went to church on Sunday. I helped old people. Lord, what's happened? I'm a good person." Hey, if you're going through a trial, welcome to the club. One thing God will try is your faith, which is more precious than gold, to make sure it's genuine. Amen. We want faith, but we don't want genuine faith. Genuine faith requires trials.

The other thing is that the world's going to persecute you. And that we should not think that it is some strange thing happening to us. So the statistics I read to you earlier about the Christians being persecuted in the world, as a disciple of Jesus, it is a normal thing because the world hated Him. Peter goes on to say here, verse 13: "But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."

I've gone through a lot of stuff now, but when Jesus comes back, shouting time. Amen. I don't have to wait till then. I can shout now, but the reality is that my joy will be overflowing because I've suffered with Him now, I can rejoice in Him later. Verse 14: "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's business." Amen. Mind your own business.

"I'm suffering, people persecuting me." No, because you're nosy and you're a gossip. Or if you don't show up to work on time and you don't do your job and you get fired, "They're persecuting me." No, you're just a sorry employee who needs to repent. That's not persecution. But verse 16 says, "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter." In other words, when I'm going through suffering, I should be looking for the glory of God in the midst of that, not for an easy way out.

So the Lord tells them on this night now, this is coming as a real shock to them because the mentality of the disciples, we know from studying the Word of God, is that they thought they were on the verge of Jesus ushering in His kingdom and establishing His kingdom and overthrowing the Roman government, and they're going to rule and reign with Christ. Happy days are here again! And here Jesus is like, "You're bringing me down, Jesus. You're sharing this information. This is a bummer, man. What's going on? We're on the verge of taking over, and you're talking about people hating us and persecution."

The disciples the Lord informs them that persecution is really a natural part of this discipleship. They were looking to party, and Jesus was talking about persecution. But despite the devil's attacks—and every one of us in here who named the name of Jesus have experienced attack in one form or another—despite the devil's attacks, the Kingdom of God continues to prevail.

One of the sites we visited in Israel is the site of the Herodium. It was Herod's southern palace of fortress that he built near Bethlehem. And standing there at the Herodium was a stark reminder of the words of Jesus. Here we were standing where once stood the epitome of Roman power, influence, and riches. The Herodium. Herod's palace. He had Masada. He had a palace over in Jordan as well, and other palaces, places he could run and hide. And he had it laid. You saw the ruins where he had a cold room where you get in the cold water, then you get in the warm water, then he had a hot sauna. These guys had it going on.

He had a big huge swimming pool and all these things. Beautiful place at one time. It's just ruins now. Stark reminder of the words of Jesus, that heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. And lowly Jesus was born just a few miles away. You can see it from the Herodium in Bethlehem. Herod's kingdom is in ruins, and the kingdom of Jesus continues to prevail. Amen. Give God praise. He doesn't mind. Amen.

There's a modern-day example of that very fact. I was reading an article entitled, and I quote, "Muslim Converts Breathe New Life Into Europe's Struggling Christian Churches." Now if you know anything about the churches in Europe, many of them, and some of you have been to Europe, you see these churches, a lot of them are dead. They turn them into discos or bars or hotels or whatever. These great cathedrals that at one time are now being used for worldly needs. There's no life there anymore. No people are coming to hear the Word of God. And many of the churches are just dead.

And I read the title of this article, I thought, "Wow, this is interesting." So I read on. And this particular article reports the very fact that many of the refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are converting to Christianity, breathing new life into Europe's once-floundering Christian churches. Germany received nearly 900,000 asylum seekers in 2016. The majority was from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, according to published reports.

Churches in Berlin and Hamburg are faced with so many asylum seekers wanting to convert to Christianity that they have held baptisms in municipal swimming pools. Amen. What the devil meant for evil, God is turning around for good. And one Muslim person who was being interviewed said, "Why is this happening among the Muslims?" He said, "Because the Europeans are too fat and too rich. They have no need of God. But they're fleeing persecution and running into the very arms of Jesus. They have a heart and a hunger for God that we know nothing about. And they're coming to Him in droves."

Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Kingdom of God, His Word, will remain forever. Look at Jesus. Who knew revival would come to Europe from the Middle East? Look at God. Amen. Somebody ought to be praising the Lord up in here. Come on! Amen. So whatever weapon is formed against you will not prosper. Whatever weapon the enemy has brought against you and your life will not prosper. What he means for evil, God will turn around and use it for good.

I know you've been through some horrible things. You talk about horrible things, these people fleeing the Middle East have been through some horrible things. And what Satan has meant for evil, God is turning it out for good. And many of them are going to get saved and go back to their countries and evangelize their own nations. Amen. Look at God.

The second aspect related to the world that Jesus addresses here is the liability of the world. Verses 22 to 25. He says, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin." No accountability. "But now they have no excuse for their sin." He who hates me hates my Father also. Why? Because the Father and Son are one. "If you've seen the Father," Jesus said, "you've seen me." Rather, you've seen the Father. And they are one.

In verse 24 He says, "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.'" The world is without excuse, Jesus says, for two reasons. Number one, they have My word. They've heard My words. The world is without excuse. In other words, I turned the light on. My word is like light. It is life that I've spoken to them, yet they refuse to see.

John 6:63, Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life." The world is without excuse. The light has been turned on. The Light of the World has come. Jesus' words bring life to that which is dead, and yet the world continues to reject Him.

The second reason He says they're without excuse is because of His works. Jesus Christ said—He says it Himself, testifies of Himself—no one has done what I've done. Buddha, Muhammad, name them. No one has done what Jesus has done. What has He done? He's fed the five thousand. He's opened the eyes of the blind, which only the Jews knew that only God can give sight to blind people. Not to mention the fact that He raised a dead man from the grave. No one has done what Jesus has done.

The world is without excuse. Even Nicodemus acknowledged this very fact in John chapter 3, verse 2, when Nicodemus went to Jesus kind of on the down-low. He kind of snuck in and saw Jesus at night. And Nicodemus said to Him, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher sent from God, for no one can do these things that you do unless God is with them." They knew that He was from God. What they missed is that He was the very express image of God in their midst. Yet they refuse to see.

Now I know somebody's probably thinking, "Well, I hear the words of Jesus, but I've never seen Jesus and I've never seen Him do these things." But you're still without excuse. Look around you. You've got people sitting right next to you, across from you, maybe in back of you, whose eyes were open. They were once blind, now they can see. You have people who can now walk who were once lame, in the right direction. You've got some folks—all of us—who were dead, and now we're alive. Amen. Don't tell me that you haven't seen the works of Jesus. You refuse to see them. You just refuse to see them. You are without excuse.

Jesus indicts the world. They are liable. But I think about us as believers. We are also without excuse. How often we're quick to use excuses why we can't do something for God or why we can't change. I think Jesus would say the same thing to us: "You're without excuse. You have My words. You know My works. And you even have My Spirit living inside of you."

We're without excuse as believers. What excuses are we making up, maybe this morning, sitting here in this congregation? We're making up excuses even now. I want you to know you're without excuse. Our excuses will not bear up when we stand before Him, before the Bema seat of Christ when He judges our works. No excuses will hold up there.

Second Chronicles chapter 20, verse 20. Pastor Mark shared this verse with me this morning. It's so true. As Jehoshaphat, King Jehoshaphat, was facing three armies coming at him to destroy Israel, they didn't know what to do, but he said, "One thing I would do is keep my eyes on you." And the Word of God was spoken by the prophet who said, "Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established. Believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." Believe in the Word of God and you will be established. Amen. We are without excuse. The question is whether or not we will truly believe and put our trust in the Lord completely.

And yet in relation to the world, the world's liability, the world, even though they've heard the words of Jesus, they've seen His works—they see them even to this very day—they still hate Him without cause. But Jesus said these things would happen because it was prophesied in Psalm 69, verse 4, as He quotes it in the latter part of verse 25: "They hated me without a cause." Amen. They hated me without a cause. So people who are mad at Jesus, maybe somebody sitting here or watching online and they're mad, sometimes people come to church that way. They're just mad at God. They came because somebody bugged them or whatever. And they're mad at God. "I'll show them. I'll be angry all the way through the message. I'll really show God." We shake our fist at God and all of that. Let me tell you what Jesus is saying here: When you do all that, you're just fulfilling prophecy. Even the wicked work according to His will.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpittmanministries.com. Also, consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 5058, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949, or visit us online. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.