Our testimony, a light the world hates

Sunday 01/23/22

Message –  Our testimony, a light the world hates

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Our testimony, a light the world hates

So far, in John 15 we have covered that:

• The Father is the Vineyard Owner or Keeper
  • As such He is the One Who watches over our development
  • It is FOR HIM that the entire vineyard even exists and its fruit belongs to Him.
  • He is the One Who ties us up closer to the Sun, Who prunes us and tends to the ground we grow out of.
    • In practical terms this means He is the God Who according to Psalm 33, “(13)The LORD looks down from heaven; He observes everyone.  (14)  He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth from His dwelling place.  (15)  He alone crafts their hearts; He considers all their works.” 
    • Put into real day-by-day application, this means that it is the Father Who initially tilled the ground of our hearts, preparing it for the Gospel. It is the Father Who authorized our hearts to be enlightened by the gospel so we can accept or reject it with knowledge. It is the Father Who regenerates our hearts, changes our nature and grafts us into our Vine. It is the Father Who sends the Vine Life of the Holy Spirit for our spiritual health, maturity & growth. It is the Father Who works with and molds our hearts in attempts to produce Christ in us and it is He Who is benefited by the fruit and is glorified by the harvest of it.
• The Lord Jesus is our Vine
  • He is the first born among many brethren.
  • He is the patterned son
  • It is in Him and out of Him and by means of Him that we have our being as children of God and produce fruit in conformity to His image.
  • It is due to the union we have with Him that we have any connection with the Father
  • It is due to the union we have with Him that we can glorify the Father and share in the core nature of the Godhead – which in turn makes eternal union and fellowship even possible.
  • It is His nature, which like a seed within us, produces His likeness within us.
    • 1Jn 3:7-9, “(7)Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.  (8)  The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.  (9)  Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.”
      • This means that because our natures have changed and the core nature of God is within us in the form of a seed which grows and matures – that we cannot PRODUCE from our new nature – sin. Like Paul said in Romans 7, “If I sin, it is no longer I who does it, but the sin that dwells in my flesh.” 
        • In other words once we are born again, any sin we commit we do so because our souls were influenced by our flesh to do so. It is NOT a product of the new nature of our spirits. WE as spiritual plants or branches, no longer have a sinful nature in our spirits. We have passed from death to life, from darkness to light, but in our flesh – accordion to Paul in Romans 7, NOTHING good dwells. Sin and death are still resident in our bodies and if we allow our hearts to be influenced by our flesh, we will sin, but that sin is not produced from our spirits. This is why AS LONG as we remain in our Vine, we cannot sin as we once did. Our spirits, together with the Holy Spirit, also have an influence over our hearts and so long as we do not harden our hearts to it, we cannot sin like we did before we met Christ. It simply is not in us – it does not agree with us. 
        • To borrow from Matthew Henry regarding this, he says, “1. There is a light in his mind which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. 2. There is that bias upon his heart which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. 3. There is the spiritual seminal principle or disposition, that breaks the force and fulness of the sinful acts. They proceed not from such plenary power of corruption as they do in others, nor obtain that plenitude of heart, spirit, and consent, which they do in others. The spirit lusteth against the flesh. And therefore in respect to such sin it may be said, It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. It is not reckoned the person’s sin, in the gospel account, where the bent and frame of the mind and spirit are against it. Then, 4. There is a disposition for humiliation and repentance for sin, when it has been committed. He that is born of God cannot sin.” 
• Regarding the Spirit WHo is our Vine Life
  • He is the One Who leads, guides and teaches us in all truth.
  • He takes hold together with us and advances the Lordship of Jesus and therefore His kingdom in our hearts.
  • He causes us to see Him
  • He causes us to see our sin
  • He causes us to Love God, respect Him and therefore change our minds about sin.

     …and what we are likely to see and learn today in John 16, He is the One Who…

• takes of what is Jesus’ and reveals it to us

• Regarding us as branches – as we have already said…
  • We have a new nature and are now compatible with Jesus our Vine
  • We BELONG!!!
  • We are destined to bear the entire likeness of God in our natures
  • We belong to Him, bring glory to Him and we produce things useful for Him and His kingdom
  • We are His desire and our very beings in Christ bless and glorify Him

Now, last week we wrapped up by talking about LOVE being the most important fruit both to us and to God, for out of that fruit comes all the others. 1Cor. 13 says, “Love is KIND, Love is PATIENT…etc.” So love is the command we have received from our Vine.

So let’s pick back up with John 15:18 and move forward. 

John 15:18-27, 

“(18) If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. 

(19)  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 

(20) Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. (21)  But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don’t know the One who sent Me. 

(22)  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 

(23)  The one who hates Me also hates My Father. 

The NEED for testimony…

(24)  If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. (25)  But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated Me for no reason. 

(26)  “When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father–the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father–He will testify about Me. (27)  You also will testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

So now we get to persecution and opposition.

Sticking with our analogy as plants, this causes us to immediately grasp our condition in Christ.

During times of drought, infestation, blight and other difficulties which attack a plant and its production it is relationship that makes it survive and even thrive!

• The relationship of the Owner to the plant that does what plants cannot do. 
• The Owner removes weeds, fertilizes the ground, waters it, makes sure it gets adequate sun, mulches it, treats it against infectious diseases.
• The relationship of the plant to the ground that enables it to draw up moisture and nutrients. 
• The relationship with the sun that enables it to convert energy into growth and health.
• It is the relationship of the branch to the Vine that keeps them healthy, resistant to disease and producing fruit even during adverse situations.

There are two predominate views of the relationship persecution and opposition have in the believer’s life and neither of them are true.

Persecution as the cause of growth

On the other hand, persecution itself does not cause growth! What it provides is an introduction to an environment where the branches draw closer to the Vine, drink even more deeply from it, depend more upon it and as a result comes out the other side stronger and more established than before! So it is in our relationship with Christ.

Persecution as the cause of failure

Persecution is never the cause of fruit failure. It is never the cause for a lack of harvest, or spiritual health. It is the strength of the relationship of the branch to the Vine which determines all of this.

We are living in a day where the role of the victim is among society’s favorite self-delusions. When it comes to failures, NO ONE is personally ultimately responsible for anything. Everyone is the victim. 

In Christ, we are not allowed such a delusion! If you are spiritually unhealthy, if persecution is affecting your growth, maturity and likeness to Christ, then it is because you are not drawing from your Vine. Your Vine is enough for you! What did Jesus say to Paul who asked Him to make the attacks of the devil to go away? He told him, my influence over your heart and it’s reflection in how you live your life is enough for you Paul!

Let’s read that account in 2Cor. 12:8-10, 

“(8) Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me.  (9)  But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.  (10)  So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Notice also the relationship of the church to the world. We love Christ and all who belong to Him. As a result, the world hates us.

This is necessary! If they did not see Jesus clearly portrayed before them, if they have not witnessed the changed life resulting from union with Him – they might have an excuse for their sin, but if we live “Christ in us” before them it will be a witness unto Him or rather your life will testify of Him.

Now when Jesus just said,

(26)  “When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father–the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father–He will testify about Me. (27)  You also will testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” 

It has a dual meaning. First and most directly, it is in reference to the twelve who had been with Him from the beginning – being a testimony unto Him. Of course Judas apostated himself and was replaced with Matthias, but if you remember one of the qualifications for being Judas’ replacement was it had to be a man who had been with Jesus from the beginning.

Eye-witness testimony was imperative for the first century church. It is among the greatest reasons for reliable authentication of the scriptures. It was written within a lifetime of the events they record.

NOW – we also provide “eye-witness” testimony in that the Spirit “SHOWS US Jesus and it is through real, and genuine relationship with the Jesus we have come to know through the revealing work of the Spirit of God that our lives are transformed into a living testimony unto Him.

In other words, the world ALWAYS HAS and ALWAYS WILL see Jesus through first hand testimony and it is for this reason they stand condemned if they do not believe.

Now…PLEASE do not be deceived. The world does not love you. 

The word “hate” implies active ill will in words and conduct, a persecuting spirit. To detest, by extension to “love less” or to actually hate. This can manifest in words or behaviors which are either mild or extreme.

Example of work:

They liked me on a social level because I was a likable person. I did things for them, was invited to lunch with them, had decent and cordial interactions with them during work, but they would NEVER have invited me to a party over the weekend or to hang out with them doing something they enjoyed. Why? I was a light in their darkness. Though they had a surface liking of me, I never gave them any reason not to, I was not able to fellowship with them like those who are lost. When they said dirty jokes I did not laugh. When they attempted to involve me in their running down the boss or talking about enjoying over drinking or drugs, I simply remained silent unless they asked me my opinion. I never shamed them, I simply said, due to my relationship with God as my Father I couldn’t do those things in good conscience and honestly would not enjoy them anyway. I admitted that some of those activities are enjoyable on the surface, but my heart would not allow me to indulge in them because my relationship to God has changed me. It isn’t that there is no enjoyment in sin, but it requires me to hurt someone I admire and love and that steals any joy I could get out of it.

This would be met with a shrug or a light sneer as if they thought it antiquated or overly restricting, but I know that at their core I was shining light in their darkness – in an inviting rather than a condemning way.

This made them kinda like me, but never wanted to be close to me.

According to Jesus this persecution is to be expected if we are like Him and love what He loves.

One day in Jesus’ teaching He said, 

“(10) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. (11)  “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. (12)  Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (13)  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. (14)  “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. (15)  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. (16)  In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” ~ Matt. 5:10-16  

Those who suffer for righteousness’ sake, are those who suffer because they will not sin against their consciences, and therefore suffer for doing what is good. 

Whatever pretense people make for their persecuting of true believers, it is the power of godliness that they have an enmity to; it is really because of their hatred for Christ and His righteousness that they are maligned, hated, and persecuted. As Psalm 69:9 & Rom. 8:36 both say, “For thy sake I have borne reproach”.

It was Jesus Himself Who strongly warned us in saying, 

“(20) Then He looked up at His disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you. (21) “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (22) “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! (23) Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.  

(24) “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already.  

(25) “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry. 

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.  

(26) “Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets. 

 (27) “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (28) bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  

(29) To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either.  

(30) Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.  

(31) Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.  

(32) “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. (33)  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.  (34)  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full.  

(35) But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to ungrateful and evil people.  (36)  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” – Luke 6:20-36  

John 16:1-33, 

“(1) I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. (2)  They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 

(3)  They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or Me.” 

You see it always comes back to this! The WHOLE GOSPEL is about knowing Him!

Now do not confuse knowing for seeing.

The Jews were held guilty for rejecting Messiah because they saw, but did not believe.

Jesus recognized this as a prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah who prophesied about this when he said, 

“(36) While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.  (37)  Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him.  (38)  But this was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: Lord, who has believed our message? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to? (39)  This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said:  (40)  He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I would heal them. (41)  Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke about Him.  (42)  Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.  (43)  For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” ~ John 12:36-43  

Back in John 16…

“(4)  But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. (5)  “But now I am going away to Him Who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, 

‘Where are You going?’ 

(6)  Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 

(7)  Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. 

(8)  When He comes, 

He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 

(9)  about sin, because they do not believe in Me; 

(10)  about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 

(11)  and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” 

The popular TV preacher Joseph Prince butchers this passage as he does many other key passages. He correctly claims that verse 9 is the work of the Holy Spirit to the world, but then claims that verse 10 is to believers because of the pronoun “you”, but Jesus already gave the verses their context, He said He would convict the WORLD about three things – sin, righteousness and judgment. Then He explains why.

• He will convict the world of sin (not sins) meaning the sin of self-righteousness aka – not believing on the Son.
• He is going to convict the world of righteousness because Jesus has finished His work and returned to the Father. Prince here claims that this is NOT to the world but to the believer and that what the Holy Spirit is convicting the believer about is their righteousness in Christ. Now I am not in any way saying the the Spirit does not do this because He does. The scriptures tell us to awake unto righteousness and sin not. How can we awake to something that we cannot see or know – we only have this sight because of the inward conviction of the Holy Spirit, however that is no justification for butchering this passage.
• Third the Holy Spirit will convict the world of future and impending judgment on the ruler of this world and those who take their stand with him.

What Mr. Prince apparently does this for if because he claims that the Holy Spirit NEVER convicts the believer of their sins. He believes and teaches that 1 John 1:9 is to the world and not the believer as well. He says the reason why some Christians cannot tell the difference between the Spirit convicting them and the devil condemning them is because there is no difference. BOTH are the devil since the Spirit would never do that!

Of course this is both stupid and a complete distortion of the Gospel. It is a false teaching!

Ministers are told to work conviction in the heart of those they lead:

• Titus 1:9
• Titus 2:15
• 1Tim. 5:20
• 2Tim. 4:2

All of these words are the exact same Greek word for convict which means to show to be in the wrong, to implicate, reprove, rebuke, admonish of sin. To chastise, correct and chastine in order to train.

It is specifically used of the Father through the Spirit in Heb. 12:5.

“(4) In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  (5)  And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly, or faint when you are reproved [1651] by Him; (6)  for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives. (7)  Endure it as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline?  (8)  But if you are without discipline–which all receive–then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” ~ Heb. 12:4-8  

If we sin, and 1st John confirms we do and that if we claim that we don’t we are lying against God, then the Spirit would not be doing His job if He failed to bring it to our attention. Without Him we would have NO SIGHT to even know we had sinned. He IS our Light and understanding.

Back to John 16…

(12)  “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. (13)  When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. 

(14)  He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. (15)  Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you. (16)  “A little while and you will no longer see Me; again a little while and you will see Me.” 

“(17)  Therefore some of His disciples said to one another, 

“What is this He tells us: ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”  

(18)  They said, “What is this He is saying, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what He’s talking about!”  

(19)  Jesus knew they wanted to question Him, so He said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’? (20)  “I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. (21)  When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. (22)  So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. (23)  In that day you will not ask Me anything. “I assure you: Anything you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. (24)  Until now you have asked for nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be complete. 

(25)  “I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. (26)  In that day you will ask in My name. I am not telling you that I will make requests to the Father on your behalf. (27)  For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. (28)  I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 

(29)  “Ah!” His disciples said. “Now You’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.  (30)  Now we know that You know everything and don’t need anyone to question You. By this we believe that You came from God.”  

(31)  Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? (32)  Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. (33)  I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Blessings!