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The Holy Work - Don’t Waver - #009 · Providence Voice

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, and welcome to the Holy Work.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Carrie Richards, and today we are going to finish John 15.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: We've been breaking it down into different sections, and I just want to recap on the first two, and then today we will do the last section.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the first one, we talked about the vine and the branches and how we need to be connected with God as our gardener, as our person who is taking care of us as the vine, who gives us nourishment, who also prunes us and helps uh get us back on the right track when we've fallen away.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second part, we are talking about how we are to abide in him and how we, if we remain in him, we are keeping God's commands and we are following him and how we are supposed to love each other.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then today we're talking about the last section, uh, verses 18, and it goes all the way through 25, and it's talking about how the world hates disciples.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, that sounds so fun to talk about, right?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: But before we do that, I want to back up a little and give a little backstory on where this is in history and why John wrote this part.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So this is right after um Jesus is washing his disciples' feet and he had the Last Supper with them.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: He predicts his betrayal to them, and he also predicts Peter's denial, and he's comforting the disciples and talking to him about what the future is going to hold, and he promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit once he's gone.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: He is going to be with them, but not on earth.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is where John 15 picks up.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read this section with you, and then we'll break it down a little bit.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: That is why the world hates you.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Remember what I told you, a servant is not greater than his master.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Whoever hates me hates my father as well.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my father.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: But this is to fulfill what is written in their law.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: They hated me without reason.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's pretty deep.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: That is um Jesus talking to his disciples about how they are going to be treated just like he was.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that if you're trying to follow Jesus, doesn't sound like a fun day.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we're gonna break this down a little bit, starting back at verse 18.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when it says, if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that's okay.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to decide.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's okay.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: The world's gonna hate us.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're not of this world, we live in this world, um, but we are destined for heaven if we are followers of Christ.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so we don't have to worry about that people don't like us.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's hard, especially when you want approval from people, but we have to ultimately think who is our allegiance to?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is it to the people here on earth who really have no control over our salvation?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it to God?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to think really in the grand scheme of things, what does the world have to give us that is better than what God gives?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you break it down, the world gives a whole lot of hurt and pain and sorrow and dismay and despair.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: God gives us hope and joy and peace and love, and he ultimately gives us salvation for our sins.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you look at those two contrasts, how can we love the world?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if the world hates us, it's okay.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay that the world hates us.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're supposed to because if the world hates us, we're doing our job that God has sent us to do.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the next part in 19, if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the world's gonna see us and see that we are different.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: They're supposed to, because we're not supposed to look like the world if we're reflecting Jesus, because he is not worldly.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: It says, I've chosen you out of the world, and that is why the world hates you.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: We are God's children, and he wants us to be set apart from the world.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: He says that he has actually set us apart in the Bible, and we want to make sure that we don't reflect what the world looks like.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: That is such a special thing if you think about it.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: It says that he chose us from the world, he is so proud of us, he loves us.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: We are his children and we are his creation.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: He has created every single one of us to be just like him.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Satan runs the world, he has a limited reign on what he can do, but God has allowed him to have this place in the world, and that is why it's so broken.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: The world is so broken, but we are servants of God, and we follow God, and so there is going to be that difference that people see.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And in verse 20 it says, Remember what I told you.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: A servant is not greater than his master.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it's saying if they didn't like Jesus, they're not gonna like us.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: We're the same thing.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: But it also says there's a little bit of hope here that if they listened to me, they will listen to you.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where it comes in that we are supposed to be making disciples.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to go out and tell the gospel and share it with people, and that is what we are here for.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: We are here to make disciples, and we're supposed to bring them up and teaching them to obey the word, and then to then they make more disciples.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: God wants as many people in heaven with him when he returns, and it's our job to at least plant that seed.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the ones who are there ready for the word, they're gonna obey Jesus' teaching when we talk about it.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's another part we'll get to later that they're gonna have to hear it, and that's important.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we have to be willing as Christ followers to preach that word, to get in there and to talk about why we're here, what is important about following Jesus and why he is the most important thing.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So then we get to the next part in verse 21.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, verse 23.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Whoever hates me hates my father as well.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to go on into 24, too.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my father.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: So verse 23 is talking about whoever hated Jesus hated God.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that's pretty much awful.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why in the world would anybody hate Jesus?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they have been bound by Satan.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if we see people that are acting that way, we need to pray for them.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: We need to hope that they can be reconciled to Christ before the time comes that they meet their maker.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then it also talks about reverse 22.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: If they had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But now they have no excuse for their sin.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is saying, you know, he they didn't know anything until I talked to them.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: But now that they've heard, now they're guilty of their sin.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so we need to make sure that we are preaching the gospel.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: We are telling people about it, and that we have to make sure that also we know, if we know we've been heard, we've heard Jesus' word and we're not following it, then we're not obeying his commands and we are guilty of our sins.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: He washes those sins away when we accept him as our savior and repent and ask for forgiveness of our sins.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the ultimate goal is that we need to change our ways.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: We need to make sure that we are looking more like him every single day and we're not falling back into the sin that we have been saved from.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: He is a patient God, he is a kind God and a loving God, but ultimately our chances are gonna end, and we have to be on the right side of things when he comes back.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to make sure that we are changing and looking more like Christ as we come.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then we want to talk about also how they have seen and heard, but they still hate Jesus.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how anybody can hear what Jesus is about and still hate him.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: That shows that they're on opposite sides and they are definitely part of the world.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: If we proclaim Jesus Christ and what he has to offer people, and that he is their creator and he's their savior, and that they still hate him, that's where he would just like he told his disciples, brush the dust off the feet and walk away because they won't listen.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And there are people out there that who are gonna do that.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: They are bitter, they're mad, and they don't love God.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And no matter how much we talk to them, we could talk to them until they're blue in the face, and they're not gonna change.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So at that point, we just have to pray for them.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: We have to pray that something happens in their life that turns them back to God.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: That I don't know if it's an occurrence that something happens or that somebody else will bump into them on their path in their lives and has the influence needed to get them to listen.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why also it's important that our actions say more than our words, because we can preach all day long about how we love God and how other people should love him too.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if we're not acting out that in our daily lives, then why should people do it?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And people watch you.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you proclaim yourself as a Christ follower, people watch you and they're waiting for you to make a mistake.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do, you just have to admit, yes, I'm a sinner, I'm not perfect, and I have never claimed to be, but I'm trying every day to be better because your actions speak louder than words, and we want to make sure that our actions align with what God wants us to do.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: The next part is talking about how, but this is the reason to fulfill what is written in the law.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: They hated me without reason.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So this actually fulfills the law of prophecy from Psalms.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's two different ones, Psalm 3519 and Psalm 36, sorry, 69.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So 3519 says, Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink an eye.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then Psalm sixty-nine four says, Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Many are my enemies without cause.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Those who seek and destroy me, I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: So those are two prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus has filled at this moment.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we see so many different prophecies that Jesus has filled in his lifetime.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to point that out that that is a part of John 15, where he is revealing some of the prophecies that have been told.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then the last part, it's talking about the Holy Spirit and how he's coming as an advocate.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: When the advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me, and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So this kind of gives us some hope as we wrap up John 15.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the Holy Spirit is an advocate, and he is part of God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and he is the Spirit of truth, and he will testify about Jesus, and he will tell people through people that he is Jesus is real, Jesus is true, and you can believe it.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the Holy Spirit teaches us about Jesus and what God wants us to know.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: The way that happens is by spending time in God's word and meditating on his word and just listening, just sitting and waiting and listening.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: We don't do enough of that these days where there's so much distraction.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's Satan's way of helping us to not hear the Holy Spirit when he talks because we're so distracted.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you to find a time that you are spending with God alone in quiet.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of people don't like quiet because you think of things and you quiet brings up memories and brings up issues that you have to deal with, but you need to deal with it so that we can move forward and not stay stuck in those issues.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: So ask the Holy Spirit to daily speak through you to others, but also speak to you about what God wants you to know.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I listened to a podcast recently, and um it was John Bevere, and he said that every day he sits down and he asks God, What do you want me to accomplish today?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And he just sits and listens to the Holy Spirit, and he'll bring up a maybe a list of things to do, or maybe it's just a phrase, and you don't quite know what that means until you go about your day and then go, Oh, that's what God was saying.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's what he wants me to do today.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is the person I'm supposed to talk to.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And God will reveal himself in ways that are unique.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: A friend told me that she does this, but it's a word of the day.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And he told her a word, it was a blue jug or something like that.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then she was talking with a person that had a story about this thing, this item in her story, and she's like, Okay, God, this is where I'm supposed to be today.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So God reveals himself in little ways that we have to pay attention to, we have to focus on, and we have to really, really be willing to sit and hear what he has to say.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in the end, it says we must testify.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are called to tell others about Jesus.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: We have a life that we're living that we need to tell people about.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you've never had a rough life and you've walked away from the church and come back and have that type of a testimony, your life is a testimony.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you've tried to walk the straight and narrow and you've grown up in church and you've never gone out and been crazy, you still have a testimony that God is faithful every single day of your life, that He provides for you, that He supports you.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you might think your life is pretty mundane compared to others, but everyone has a story of God's mercy and goodness and love.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And we have the opportunity to share it every single day.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: We have the gift of salvation, and we are supposed to tell others about it so that they can receive it.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to think about the people around you, think about your neighbors, your friends, your family, and think about the day that we're in heaven.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: You want those people with you.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: But some of them just need to be told.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus said earlier in 15, that they need to be told.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Some will listen and some will some will not, and that's not on us.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's on us to tell.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: We must be bold with this, and we cannot be wishy-washy and waver in our faith.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: God has created us as a precious gift, and He wants us to tell others about Him.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're so good at telling others about statistics of ball games and how this place has this and that on sale and the latest trends of what's going on with um just whatever.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: But why are we so nervous to talk about God?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just want you to think about that.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Why are we so nervous and anxious to talk about God?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I had a friend recently who he had a heart attack, and as they were performing surgery on him, and I didn't know this, but when they were putting stints in his heart, he wasn't fully asleep.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: The doctor wanted him to be awake and talking so that he knew things were going okay.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't realize during those surgeries you weren't asleep, but they said all he was doing was talking about Jesus.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: He was telling them all about Jesus while he was in this surgery, and they literally had his life in their hands, and he just wanted to talk about Jesus.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's so special.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus should be the thing we always want to share.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: We should never be embarrassed by it.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: We should never apologize for it.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: He is our salvation, he is our life.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: He is everything.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I I just encourage you as you read through John 15 and you see this, and you go out and you live your life, that you will ask the Holy Spirit to be part of your day.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh show you who you need to talk to, who you need to mend fences with, who you might need to share the gospel with that has never heard it, but you're the one that's supposed to share.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: God will prompt you, He will also give you those opportunities to do so.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I pray that as you go through your day, that you will look for those opportunities and not waver.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Don't waver in your faith.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't waver when he went to the cross for you.