Uncomfortable Life

Unmet expectation breeds conflict.

This is one of the things I always talk to.

I talk to couples that are about to get married.

I always try to get them to talk about many things.

You know, have you spoken about how many kids that you want to have?

Whether you're going to have kids at all?

Because if you both have expectations and they're not met, it will breed conflict.

John Piper, in his book, The Roots of Endurance, says that here in the Western civilization,

there is a mindset that we deserve trouble-free, pain-free existence.

So we expect to be able to go to the school that we want to.

We expect to have all the creature comforts of life.

We expect that life will be comfortable.

Maybe if you've moved to Australia, you came here for those reasons.

A better life, a better job, a place to raise your kids, to avoid pain and conflict.

What is the expectation of our lives?

Is it the avoidance of pain and suffering and the pursuit of comfort and pleasures?

Is it possible that we bring in this Western mindset of having a safe, risk-averse, pain-free life into the life of Christianity?

What are the expectations of the Christian life?

If you're a Christian, what are the expectations that you have of Christianity?

Is it a settled, comfortable life?

What does it cost to be a Christian?

How much does being a Christian impact your job, where you live, the people that you welcome into your own home?

Does being a committed Christian just look like coming to church on a Sunday?

What is the expectation of how much our entire life will be shaped and impacted by Jesus?

Is Christianity just like supporting a sporting team, where we just have our life and the sporting team sits on top,

and sometimes we're really serious about the sport, and sometimes it's the off-season, and we don't even think about it at all?

Jesus is going to set some clear expectations about what the Christian life looks like.

We're in John chapter 15, and Jesus is just about to die, and to be raised to the throne above all thrones.

John 15 · chapter mention

Raised in glory, as we see God's kingdom breaking in.

Dead people are raised to life.

The Holy Spirit starts dwelling within people.

It's a new world.

But what is it going to look like for the Christians in this stage between Jesus' death and resurrection, and Jesus' return?

Where Jesus is the King of the cosmos, but the whole world isn't yet following Him.

What's going to happen when there's conflict on the earth between those who follow Jesus and those who don't?

What can we expect this life to look like while we wait?

Let me pray as we jump into chapter 15 and 16.

Heavenly Father, be with us tonight.

Help us to hear what you have to say to us individually,

so that we would depend upon you and to be shaped to be more like your Son.

Amen.

And so Jesus has spent time over the last couple of chapters, the last couple of weeks that we've been looking at this book,

explaining the positives of what it means to be a Christian.

Those who follow Jesus have life.

Jesus is going to prepare a house.

Christians will have the Holy Spirit.

Christians are invited into the awesome love of the Trinity.

He calls on us to abide in His love, shaped by the Father, and to love other people.

And now He has some very sobering words.

Chapter 15, verse 18.

What...

Have a look with me.

Chapter 15, verse 18.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

That is why the world hates you.

Hatred.

It's a pretty sharp turn for Jesus.

If the disciples were hoping that everything was going to be smooth sailing, following Jesus,

Jesus makes their expectations really clear.

Christians have been taken out of the world.

We are owned by Jesus.

And so if Jesus was hated by the world, well, so will those who are owned by Him.

Jesus is saying, don't be surprised if the world's hatred goes from being on me to now being on you.

Jesus had been the focus of the hate.

And now it's going to turn to His followers.

There's going to be conflict between Christians and the world,

because Christians don't belong to the world anymore.

We are taken as His.

We are owned by Him.

And Jesus' followers slowly start to look like Jesus,

in their love and obedience and fruitfulness being connected to the vine.

Jesus stood out.

And people didn't like that.

And Jesus' followers are going to stand out as well.

Increasingly so, in our culture,

those who joyfully follow Jesus and obey Him,

just don't make sense to the rest of the world.

People love to rebel, particularly against God.

And so when Christians joyfully obey God,

at the least people are surprised,

and at the worst, people hate.

I remember many, many years ago,

people saying to me,

what do you mean you've chosen not to have sex before marriage?

How can you be happy in that situation?

You're limiting your rights.

How are you going to know that she's the right person to marry?

It's like when someone changes a team that they support.

Can somebody offer me a team sport?

Curling?

I don't know.

Something far more mainstream than that.

AFL.

Thank you, Liv.

And give me an AFL team, Liv.

GWS.

GWS.

Yes.

The greater Western Sydney Giants.

When GWS started, I was living in Parramatta,

so I have an affinity for GWS.

Their arch rival is, of course, the Swans.

That's right.

Now imagine that, you know, every weekend,

there's Liv and Darcy.

They're out there supporting GWS,

loving it, having a great time.

But then, for some reason,

Darcy changed teams.

He's gone to the Swans.

Can you imagine their relationship?

All of a sudden,

we used to go to this game together,

and now you're on the other side.

You're not only going for another team,

you're going for our arch rival.

You're going for our nemesis.

How are you going to go for them?

Christians are people who have been literally plucked

from being on the wrong team

against God,

and now we are placed on God's team.

Jesus has come as the captain of the new team

and plucked us out.

And so Christians are going to be treated

the same way that Jesus was treated.

I'm trying to click.

There we go.

Oh, too far.

There we go.

Go back one.

And so there's a positive and negative

to the way that Jesus was treated

and the way we're going to be treated too.

Have a look with me at verse 20.

Jesus said,

if they persecute me,

and some of them did persecute Jesus,

they will persecute you also.

Some of them certainly did get jealous

and angry and kill Jesus.

So expect the same thing.

But some people didn't.

Some people, like the disciples

and those people that he healed in particular,

some of them didn't persecute Jesus.

Some of them followed him.

And so Jesus was persecuted by some

and others followed.

And so for those who follow Jesus,

the same thing is going to happen.

Some will persecute

and some will not persecute and listen.

Jesus said,

if they obeyed my teaching,

they will obey yours also.

So how is Jesus treated?

Well, some of them obeyed Jesus' teaching,

like the disciples,

Mary, Martha, Lazarus,

again, those who were healed.

Some will obey Jesus,

but not all will listen.

People were divided around Jesus.

Much like the Pharisees,

they seemed to be like a whole group

who didn't like Jesus,

and yet even they are divided.

And you get someone like Nicodemus

who stands out from the crowd.

But Jesus is like a knife

that cuts through a crowd.

Some fall this way,

some fall that way.

People are divided around Jesus,

and it's going to be the same

with the disciples.

We're going to divide people.

So expect some people

to listen to you

when you talk about

what you were doing

on Sunday afternoon at church.

expect some people

to ridicule you

and persecute you

just for coming to church.

It leads to the question,

why all the hate?

Why are people so divided

around Jesus?

Why are people then

and even now

divided around Jesus' followers?

Verse 22,

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.

By coming,

Jesus has brought

before people's eyes

the most central

and controlling of sins.

The rejection

and rebellion of God.

Jesus has come,

God in the flesh,

and people refuse

to listen to God,

and it's damning.

The Pharisees

didn't like it

when they were told

that they were worshipping God

in the wrong way.

They were offering praise

and service

which was actually

just all about themselves.

And even now,

when we hold out

the good news

about Jesus

being the only way

to God,

it causes

a rejection

of not just us

but a rejection

of Jesus

and a hatred

towards those

who follow him.

Why all the hate?

Because just like Jesus,

Christians are called

to stand up

and reveal sin.

Our lives

will reveal sin

in other people's lives.

This paints

a dark

and difficult picture

of the future

for the disciples.

And anyone else,

including ourselves,

that follows Jesus,

what is the point

of Jesus

telling the disciples

all of this?

Have a look at

verse 1

of chapter 16

with me.

All this

I have told you

so you will

not fall away.

Jesus is telling

the disciples this

so that they have

clear expectations.

They know what to expect.

It's a big purpose

statement

for this segment.

Jesus has so much

concern

for this little flock.

He has so much

love for them.

He doesn't want

them to fall away.

He's already

lost Judas

who he sent

out

to go and

betray him.

He is preparing

them

so that they

won't fall away.

So they're not

surprised

and they won't

stumble.

The Greek word

for fall away

is

skandalizo.

It's one of my

favorite Greek words.

That's why I still

remember it.

And it's the word

that we get

scandalized from.

Jesus doesn't

want these disciples

to be scandalized

by falling away

and ruining

their lives.

And so Jesus

gets them ready

to know what

to expect

in a Christian

walk.

He doesn't want

to lose his

disciples

and so he's

preparing them.

And Jesus

in his final

moments

gives them

such an

awesome view

of God

he's making

sure that they

get to God

and don't

fall away

like Judas.

He's not

pretending that

everything's fine

don't worry

follow me

after I die

it's all

going to be

hunky-dory

you know

there's not

going to be

any problems

at all.

It's not that.

Far better

for Jesus

to prepare

his disciples.

I'm going

to go

and the same

way that they

treat me

they're going

to treat you.

Make sure

that they

didn't go

into Christianity

with rose

tinted glasses.

I remember

reading a book

a couple of

years ago

about how to

preach an

evangelistic sermon

how to preach

in a way

so that at

the end

you can call

people to

follow Jesus

you know

come down

the front

put your

hand up

whatever way

you like

doing

but the

author made

a note

that when

people do

come down

the front

let's say

I'll take

Lachlan as

an example

let's say

you know

Lachlan wanted

to commit

his life

to Jesus

the author

encouraged

people to

push

and say

you know

Lachlan

why do you

want to be

a Christian?

It's not

going to be

easy

are you sure

you want to

be a Christian?

and at

first I

thought this

was a little

crazy

it's a bit

counterintuitive

you know

if Lachlan

wants to be

a Christian

quick

sign on

the dotted

line

we'll get

the tank

in

we'll get

him dunked

we'll get

him baptized

we're not

going to tell

him about

persecution

we're not

going to warn

him that

it's going

to be hard

that there

will be

consequences

with family

and friends

just push

him over the

line

but if we

forget in

our zeal

and desire

a good

desire to

see people

follow Jesus

if we

forget that

Christianity

is not

easy

it's possible

to go into

Christianity

with unfair

expectations

that God

will do

everything I

want

a Christianity

where yes

Jesus died

for me

but a

Christianity

that says

Jesus I

want you

to do

what I

want

when I

want

you keep

providing

for me

and I'll

keep

following

you

and then

what happens

when life

is tough

when their

expectations

of

Christianity

are dashed

by persecution

or hate

because they're

trying hard

to obey

Jesus

will they

crumble

when the

first roadblock

hits

will they

crumble

when God

doesn't

actually

take the

roadblock

away

but it's

there so

that they're

encouraged

to trust

in God

more

Jesus

sets

clear

expectations

of what's

going to

happen

he is

real

with the

disciples

he doesn't

sugarcoat

it

he tells

them the

painful

truth

chapter 16

verse 2

then they

will put

you out

of the

synagogue

in fact

the time

is coming

when anyone

who kills

you will

think they

are offering

a service

to God

they will

do such

things

because they

have not

known the

father

or me

Jesus

is predicting

what is

going to

happen to

him

that he

would be

killed

and people

would think

that they

were doing

the right

thing

they were

serving

God

it reminds

us of

the apostle

Paul

who was

totally

convinced

he was

doing

the right

thing

persecuting

Christians

putting

Christians

to death

heading to

Damascus

to put

more

Christians

in jail

full of

misguided

zeal

until he

was confronted

by Jesus

himself

Jesus said

I have

told you

this

so that

when your

time comes

you will

remember

that I

warned you

about them

Jesus

is warning

them so it

drives people

back to him

in trust

and dependence

because even

though

Christianity

will not be

easy it will

not be a

comfortable

life

Jesus has

done enough

for us

to trust

and depend

upon him

Jesus

has told

us

what's

going

to

happen

to

Christians

in the

world

waiting

on his

return

and now

he tells

us about

what the

Holy Spirit

will be

doing

in the

world

he tells

us what

the Spirit

will be

doing

have a look

at verse

8

when he

comes

he will

prove the

world to

be in

the wrong

about sin

and righteousness

and judgment

the believers

might be left

in a world

of hate

directed to

them

causing them

to depend

upon Jesus

but the Spirit

is going to be

working in

that same

world

convicting

people about

sin

and righteousness

and judgment

verse 9

about sin

because people

do not

believe in

me

about

righteousness

because I'm

going to the

Father where

you can see

me no

longer

and judgment

because the

prince of

this world

now stands

condemned

just as

Jesus

caused a

division

between

people

the Holy

Spirit is

going to

come and

confront

people in

the same

way

it does

it in

our lives

in the

lives of

believers

causing us

to confront

our own

sin

and he'll

keep doing

it in

the world

the Spirit

convicts the

world of its

sin

because the

world hasn't

believed that

Jesus is

from God

it's convicted

in righteousness

because Jesus

is the only

one who is

right before

God

the only

one who

is good

and judgment

because the

devil has

been condemned

and this is a

promise about

God's

continued

graciousness

to us

Christians

are to

continue

Jesus's

ministry

and people

are going

to respond

and be

divided

some will

hate

and some

the Spirit

will work

in their

hearts to

follow the

Lord

making them

realize their

need for

Jesus and

to turn to

him

to be on

his team

and to stop

being on

the world's

team

the Holy

Spirit does

it out in

the world

and he does

it often

through the

witness of

his disciples

verse 26

and 27

of chapter

15

explain that

the Holy

Spirit will

testify to

the truth

and so

are Christians

who follow

the Lord

Christians aren't

just to hide

away and stay

safe and think

okay I'm now

following Jesus

and there's lots

of temptations

out there

so I'm going to

hide from them

I'm going to go

into this little

bubble

I'm only going to

hang out with

Christians

I'm going to

hide in my

little cave

and I'll

be safe

Christians

don't just

hide away

and stay

safe

try and have

a risk

averse life

to try and

protect themselves

part of the

Christian walk

in the world

is to testify

about Jesus

we can do this

in two ways

we can do it

passively

which is

just following

Jesus

and people

will see

him in our

lives

or we can

do it

actively

where we

verbally testify

and we go

on the front

foot

sharing Jesus

message and

mission

the testimony

of a life

the passive

way goes

something like

this

where I'm

just going

to work

really hard

through the

power of the

Holy Spirit

to follow

Jesus in my

life

I'm going

to be

praying

reading God's

word

shaped more

like him

and asking

the Holy

Spirit

to be

convicting

me about

my sin

and as

Steve was

talking about

last week

cutting

things out

of my

life

idols

out of

my

life

and a

consequence

of that

is people

notice

I know

of people

who've

said

this

Christian

they don't

they don't

swear

they don't

gamble

they don't

drink too

much

they are

generous

and loving

why are

they so

different

they're

joyful

and they

seem to

cope

when life

gets tough

how can

this be

we had

someone

contact the

church

just recently

and say

there's

these people

that I

work with

who are

Christians

and they're

different

and I

want to

know

what's

so unique

about them

I have

problems

I can't

cope

I want

what they

have

and so

confronting

sin

in the

world

with our

friends and

family

starts by

confronting it

in our

own

lives

seeing

God

cut us

draw

from the

vine

and

shapes

more

like

Jesus

but this

is not

where it

stops

we're also

called to

confront

sin

and unbelief

in the

world

now there

are good

ways to

do this

and there

are bad

ways

I'm going

to share

two ways

that you

shouldn't

do it

two bad

ways to

confront

sin in

the world

before two

good ways

the first

bad way

to confront

sin

is something

my four

year old

daughter

recently

did

daughters

are wonderful

gifts from

God

if you

hadn't

noticed

so

Tamara

was at

preschool

last week

and she's

a wonderful

evangelist

and she was

going around

asking the

kids if they

believed Jesus

in Jesus

and if they

didn't

she said

well you're

going to

hell

and it's

fiery

and it's

hot

and it's

spiky

and that's

true

not so sure

about the

spiky part

but it

made kids

cry

I don't

know why

you're laughing

but that was

my response

too

it's probably

not the

best way

to evangelize

to encourage

people that

Jesus is

better than

the way

they are

living

but

she was

confronting

unbelief

and so I

encouraged her

show the

love of

Jesus to

them instead

show them

why Jesus

is so

great

but imagine

if half

of us

had her

courage

maybe we

all need

to be led

by the

sprouts team

on a

Sunday

morning

the second

bad way

to confront

sin in the

world is

anything on

social media

particularly

Facebook I

see many

posts lots

of inflammatory

posts about

Christianity and

religion in

general and I'm

always tempted

to engage

and try and

point out in a

helpful way why

they're wrong

about Jesus but

it never works

it never goes

well it just

devolves into

argument upon

argument and

so these are

these are two

ways not to

confront sin I

don't think there's

anything helpful on

Facebook when it

comes to arguing

about Christianity

but let me

encourage you to

testify to

Jesus' identity

and to

confront the

sin in the

world in two

ways quietly

and loudly

quietly first

of all by

personally mentioning

it to someone

maybe a friend

maybe you see a

friend making

some poor

decisions about

their life

some decisions

that you know

will have

consequences

you know that

Jesus said if

you go down

this path it

will not go

well for you

and so speak

quietly to them

whether it's a

Christian or a

non-Christian

friend maybe

you don't want

to do this this

is going to go

poorly for you

people might be

able to hear this

if it's done

well people might

get defensive

but this is a

way to speak to

people in a

loving way to

confront their sin

it probably won't

destroy friendships

the second way

is loudly

sometimes we

need to speak

loudly

for those who

don't have a

voice

for the life

of the unborn

for the rights

of refugees

even if it

makes our life

uncomfortable

in China

there is a

pastor of a

Chinese church

called early

rain in

Chengdu

province

his name is

pastor Wang

Yi

and he has

been doing

exactly this

he has been

preaching the

gospel faithfully

in spite of

pressure to be

silent

he was arrested

on December

9th

with over 100

members of the

church in

Chengdu

including his

wife

and as of

two days ago

they're still

in prison

and no one

knows where

they are

knowing that

it was likely

to happen

that he'd

likely be

arrested at

some point

he wrote a

declaration to

be published

if he was

detained by

the government

for more

than 48

hours

and so he

wrote this

declaration

I'm going to

read part of

it which

came out in

December last

year

on the basis

of the teachings

of the Bible

and the mission

of the gospel

I respect the

authorities God

has established

in China

for God

deposes kings

and raises up

kings

this is why I

submit to the

historical and

institutional

arrangements of

God in China

as a pastor

of a Christian

church I

have my own

understanding and

views based on

the Bible about

what righteous

order and good

government is

at the same

time I am

filled with

anger and

disgust at the

persecution of

the church by

this communist

regime at the

wickedness of

their depriving

people of the

freedoms of

religion and

of conscience

but changing

social and

political institutions

is not the

mission I have

been called

to and it

is not the

goal for which

God has given

his people the

gospel for all

hideous realities

unrighteous politics

and arbitrary laws

manifest the cross

of Jesus Christ

the only means by

which every Chinese

person must be

saved they also

manifest the fact

that true hope

and a perfect

society will never

be found in the

transformation of

any earthly

institution or

culture but only

in our sins

being freely

forgiven by

Christ and in

the hope of

eternal life

Pastor Wang Yi

is standing firm

against the

Chinese government

looking to

clamp down on

him it is

totally risky

he hasn't been

satisfied with

having an easy

comfortable version

of Christianity

and he's been

detained for three

months with no

end in sight as

a consequence

following Jesus

Jesus has

meant he has

taken risks

but he was

prepared for an

uncomfortable life

he knew that he

would be arrested

one day which is

why he had that

declaration published

beforehand

Jesus prepares his

disciples to have

an uncomfortable

life in the

light of our

hope of eternal

glory with Jesus

calling out people's

sin either of a

friend or the

government's will

make life

uncomfortable but

it will see lives

changed it will

call Sydney and

the world to be

convicted of their

sin and the

righteousness of

Jesus and to

follow him so

let me encourage

you be praying for

Gladys

Berger clean and

the liberal party at

a state level who

have come into

another term who

were elected

yesterday today

whenever the

election is

finalized be

praying for the

federal government

with elections

coming up

it's it's easy to

come up with

excuses to be

comfortable with

Christianity and to

not speak out it

might cost me a

friend it might make

them uncomfortable

I don't want to be the

fun police it might

get me locked up

but what do we

expect our lives to

look like

do we trust God

that he will

provide what we

need even if we

are persecuted

do we trust God

to proclaim the

gospel even when

it is unattractive

and hated

let me pray for us

heavenly father

we thank you that

your son

obeyed you fully

in life and in

death that he

endured much

persecution and

hatred so that we

could know you

Lord father

prepare us to

have an

uncomfortable life

Lord help when we

are persecuted when

we are hated to

depend upon you

knowing that you

are enough because

you have provided

eternal life and

relationship

with you Lord

father help us to

draw on you

when we are

struggling and

when we are

attacked and

persecuted Lord

we ask all this in

your son's name and

your for your glory

amen