Before I Go: John 15:18-16:15

Well, thank you to our worship team. If you're

with us on most weeks, you'll notice that we

kind of went a little acoustic this morning.

And something we've started to do more frequently

and based on your feedback, it's something I

think we collectively love, be able to hear one

another's voices. Maybe that's good. Maybe that's

not. I don't know. But grateful to the team for

leading us. That song just feels timely. You

know, we're all aware of the affairs of the world

today. turbulence of the world, and I just feel

like if there's a message from God that just

wants to sing over the world today, that Emmanuel,

God is with us, but that we would turn to Him,

right? And that we would render our hearts and

return to the Lord, but He's with us, and He

gives peace to us as we pursue Him, even in tough

and turbulent times that we are living in, for

sure. Before we jump to the series, I just want

to take a moment to plug something that you've

heard us talk about before, but it's worth just

an extra few minutes in this portion of the service.

It's our Foundations class. It is kicking off

a week from, two weeks from, two weeks from,

I believe. I don't know. March is flying. It's

kicking off soon on Thursday nights. I think

the date's there on the screen. And Preston is

going to be teaching that class. For many, for,

I don't know, for the last three or four years,

we've done something called Alpha, and we're

still going to do that. It's coming in the fall,

but we decided that we also wanted to kind of

give people an opportunity to go the next step.

So this foundations class is for anybody. Alpha

is not a prerequisite, although if you take an

Alpha, I think this might be a great next step

for you, but it's not a prerequisite. It's for

anybody who just wants to kind of go a little

deeper in their faith. Here's the way I would

differentiate it between Alpha. Alpha is like,

hey, is this? stuff true and can I believe it

and why should I believe it? Like, is the Bible

true? How do we know that Jesus is really not

some crazy lunatic? Like some of those maybe

why questions. Foundations is like, okay, I believe,

but I'm not really sure how to kind of take that

next step or what is that next step for me as

I think about my personal faith. And so I think

there's already about 15 of you that have registered

for that. We'd love to see it be 20 or thereabouts,

but probably not too many more than that because

we want to maintain a nice class size. that there's

good dialogue. It's free. There's going to be

free child care. It is going to be a tremendous

gift to our church, and I'm excited for that

to kick off. But I really wanted to put that

in front of you because there's a greater emphasis

this year on our discipleship piece. You know,

we kind of rolled out this new vision in January,

and in that vein, in that same artery, is just

to give you and equip you with more. And so this

is one of those things that is part of that new

vision. So foundations, it's online. You can

RSVP there. scan the, you can go to the church

center app. You can do all the things. It's probably

anywhere you access it, you can do it. And we're

ready for you. And Preston's working really hard.

I've seen most of the content for that. It's

just really, really good. And so I want to commend

you to do that. I'm grateful to be back with

you. How many of you were here last week? What

a blessing Joe was. Amen. Thank you, Joe. I'm

not sure if he made it this morning. He's like,

I'm not preaching. I'm not going. But he was

great. I was able to catch it online later in

the week and just continuing us forward in our

Before I Go series that we've been in, in Jesus's

farewell discourse. More on that in a moment.

The reason we weren't here last week, though,

Preston shared with you, is that myself and Tim,

who's a member of our management team, we were

in Stone Mountain. Georgia. Anybody ever been

to the actual Stone Mountain Park? It's the only

reason people go there. Stone Mountain, Georgia,

to present a gift from LBC Gives to our, we have

a new church partner in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

You're seeing some pictures there, I believe.

Yep, from last week. Kingdom City Church in Stone

Mountain, Georgia. We took them on last fall

as a new partner, as a domestic partner. We're

really committed to having local, domestic, and

then international partners. And so Pastor G

and his church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Man,

God is on the move there. They have an afternoon

service. It's at 4 .30. They're renting space

from a church that's been in the community, an

old Baptist church, for well over 100 years.

And this community has just been fractured by

racism. In fact, when you stand at the church,

if you look down the hill and just to the right,

there's a coffee shop there now. Out in front

of that coffee shop is a big oak tree, and there's

still chains hanging there from where they used

to hang slaves. And so the community very intentionally

decided to keep that there because they wanted

it. to mark the history of that community, but

the healing that's going on there as well is

phenomenal. So we were able to be there with

Pastor G. They had 18 people. It was beautiful.

And we were like, hey, man, you're doing the

hard work of starting. And us all the way in

Arizona, in Vail, Arizona, are in this with you.

And so we were able to support them not only

on a monthly basis, but then through a one -time

gift that you all made possible through LBC Gives.

So hope to be able to provide you more updates

with that. with Pastor G and what they're doing

out there in Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was

really, really special. I'm really grateful for

the chance to support him. All right, we're in

week five of our series, which is a series capturing

what we know as Jesus' Farewell Discourse. That's

the name kind of attached to it. But a simpler

way to understand it is the final night of Jesus.

with his disciples in this upper room, and they're

sharing these very intimate moments. He's washed

their feet. They've had this meal together. He's

telling them of this new season that's in front

of them. This is all captured for us in the book

of John, chapters 13 to 17, and it's been kind

John 13 · chapter mention

of the focus of this series for us. By the way,

I'm a little jealous. Joe, if you were here last

week, his passage was John 15, 1 through 15,

which is the course of Scripture where we get

our name from, which is Living Branch Church.

I have an obvious bias towards that passage.

And I was like, good luck, Joe. You've got to

preach the name of the church. But man, did he

do a good job. But we're going to pick up where

you left off last week. Which was, if you were

here, it's that portion of scripture where Jesus

is describing himself as the vine. We are the

branches. And you're like, oh, I see the name

now. And he's inviting us to abide in him, to

remain in him, to make our home in him. He is

the true vine that gives us life. And as we abide

in him, we are connected to that and find life

as well. But if you were to go back and you were

just to start over and just start reading this

farewell discourse again from chapter 13 up to

the point. point, up to the point we're at now,

you would pick up a theme, I think, in Jesus's

words to his disciples. It's been around this,

his imminent departure. Like, I'm going to leave

soon. It's coming soon. And there's a reassurance

of the Holy Spirit. They would come someday.

They would have this eternal future together.

And so Jesus has been basically saying, up to

this point, I will come again and take you where

I am. And Jesus has been making them these promises.

And right from the beginning, Jesus had declared

that all of this was because of his deep love

for these disciples, his guys. This was his crew.

These were his guys. So at this point, I want

you to see the shift that's about to happen here.

At this point, if you're one of the disciples,

you could be like, okay, this isn't ideal, but

we think we understand here. We think we understand

what's going on. We think we're good. Jesus is

like, you're going to go away. the helper, the

Holy Spirit is going to come. You still love

us. You're going to come back for us someday.

Seems okay. We can shake on it. We got a deal.

Well, this section is what I'll call the fine

print of the deal. I don't know if you've ever

found yourself in a situation where you're like,

this just seems to be a little bit too good to

be true, right? And perhaps it's too good to

be true. And then you're like, what's the fine

print? I'll tell you of one story that came to

my mind. Kendra and I were on our honeymoon in

Intervale, New Hampshire. Anybody ever been there?

We went to a ski town and skied half a day over

a course of a week. But it was beautiful. We're

in Intervale. We're out walking this little quaint

ski town. And this person's like, hey, for 50

bucks, we'll give you $50 cash. You just got

to sit through this presentation. We're like,

we're poor as poor can be. $50 will get us like

a lot more back then. Three meals, like we're

in. This sounds too good to be true. Yeah, yeah,

just come in here, sit in here, 50 bucks. So

anybody own a timeshare? My prayers are with

you, and I can give you my best legal lawyer

counsel to advise you how to get out of it. But

anyhow, this was when timeshares were still a

thing. Well, I don't need to tell you the story.

It was this pitch for a timeshare. And we're

sitting in there like, what? We don't even know

what this means. Much less in Intervale, New

Hampshire. Like, we're never coming back here

again in our lives. Thankfully, we did not sign

anything. And at the end of it, he gives us this

$50 bill. And I'm like, giddy as can be, like,

we did it. You know, we beat the system. We get

to dinner. It's time to pay. I pull out this

$50 bill, and it's been taped back together.

And I'm like, oh, no. They did get us. Like,

this isn't even a real $50 bill. So it was like,

hey, we don't need change. It's all yours, you

know. Like, take it, take it. Never heard the

word about it. Point is, it seemed too good to

be true. There was some fine print to it. It

was like, hey, we're going to give you $50, and

then you're going to sign your life away to this

timeshare. Thankfully, somehow, by the grace

of God, did not. But it seemed too good to be

true. Like, you just need $50 to watch, like,

a 20 -minute video? Like, okay. This is the point.

Here comes the fine print from Jesus. I am leaving

you, and I am leaving and sending you out in

the middle of a hostile world. This seems to

kind of be new info from Jesus. Like all the

other things that he was clear on. Like I'm leaving

you, but the good news is the Holy Spirit is

going to come. And by the way, I'm going to prepare

a place for you. So I'm going to come back. So

this isn't going to be for forever. It's temporary.

We're going to be reunited for eternity. These

are all things that they are understanding. And

quite honestly, they're like, okay, we can do

this. We can get through it. But then here comes

the fine print. By the way. While you're waiting

for me, Jesus is telling me, you're going to

go out into a hostile world, and there's going

to be a response of opposition and rejection

to you. This seems to kind of be new info, where

they kind of sit up and like, wait, we were tracking

with you up to this point, and now all of a sudden

you're like, it's going to get bad. It's going

to get hard for you. He has a new tone to him,

in my opinion, as you read this discourse. How

many of us remember as kids when our parents

would tell us hard things and then they would

follow it up with, I only tell you this because

I love you. Anybody have those types of parents?

And you would just think, you would roll your

eyes and be like, no, this is the meanest thing

anybody could ever say to me. And then now as

a parent, you completely understand it, don't

you? Like part of why you say hard things to

your kids is because you love them so deeply.

And it's our love for our kids. We tell them

these hard truths. We warn them of hard realities.

That's exactly what Jesus is about to do here.

He's first going to give them the reality of

opposition. He just wants them to see it. He's

all but promised it. These are the next words

from Jesus. Verse 18, if the world hates you,

it's a strong word, understand that it hated

me before it hated you. If you were of the world,

the world would love you as its own. However,

because you are not of the world, but I chose

you out of it, the world hates you. Remember

the word that I spoke to you. So Jesus' words

are not exactly the words of a motivational speaker

trying to win fans at this point, right? Instead,

he's preparing his disciples for this really

hard reality. that awaits them, that's ahead

of them. He knew that the message he was entrusting

to them would be carried forward into a world

that would ultimately resist it, reject it, ridicule

it, even persecute it. And the word world that

Jesus uses there, by the way, hopefully a lot

of you are still engaged in the carry on or the

carry over, I should say. This week, especially

on Monday, which is tomorrow, Preston does a

really good job of kind of breaking this word

down even further for us. You can go read that

for yourself. But the word world that Jesus is

using here several different times, he means

as a way to describe those who blatantly reject

God and who ultimately are trying to live independently

of their creator. That's a generalized way of

thinking of that word world. And here's what

we should acknowledge. Jesus was and is the only

perfectly loving, perfectly truthful, perfectly

compassionate person who ever lived, and yet

he was rejected by the world. And so what does

that mean? What it means is if that the world

rejected him, who's perfectly loving, perfectly

gracious, perfectly truthful, perfectly all things,

if that was their response to them, we don't

have a chance is what that means. I don't know

if you've ever watched a sporting event where

the favorite, if you will, loses. Like, oh, well,

they lost. We don't have a chance. They're the

favorite. They're not supposed to lose. Jesus

was not supposed to be rejected, if you will.

I mean, he was, according to the sovereign plan

of God, predetermined before the world began.

But from our vantage point, he's not supposed

to lose. He's perfectly loving. He laid down

his life. Like, what's your beef with Jesus?

He's given his life for you. And so Jesus is

like, hey, servant is not greater than his master.

If this is their response to me, then this is

going to be their response to you. That's what

verse 19 means. I've called you to follow me.

Therefore, you're different. Therefore, it will

be a source of persecution for you. Maybe you've

heard of this spiritual tension. Back when I

was growing up in the church, in the 90s, there

was a lot of really bad Christian youth group

music. We survived that. And then there was a

lot of just, I don't know, people made money

off this stuff. But there were shirts, and some

of you still have them. Good, wear them. It says,

in, not of, this idea of being in the world,

the spiritual tension that we live in the world,

but not of the world. What does it mean? It means

our values, our priorities, our loyalties are

different, but yet I pay my mortgage like someone

else does. I drive my car like someone else does.

I go to the same schools and places that other

people do. So you're in the world. We haven't

created a Christian bubble that we all just hide

in. We're in it, but we're not of it. And the

best example I can give you is a boat. If you

think about a boat, a boat belongs in the water.

They don't make boats to just sit on a shelf

to be looked at. Like, its intention is to be

in the water. That's where it functions best.

That's what it's designed to do. However, if

water gets inside the boat, it sinks and it's

catastrophic. And so that's the best picture

that we can kind of paint for you in this, in

what Jesus is trying to describe here. It's like,

you're in this thing. You're in the game, but

you're different. And because you're different,

There's going to be some persecution that comes

your way. There's going to be some rejection.

There's going to be some opposition that comes

your way because you are different. That's what

Jesus was trying to get them to understand in

this moment. We live in the world, but the world

cannot live inside of us. And the outcome of

that is that as we follow Christ and the presence

of Christ at work in our lives, what does it

do? It begins to expose the things that are broken.

None of us like the friend that's in better shape

than we are, right? Why? Because it exposes that

I'm not in good shape. I'm not friends with any

46 -year -old men because that's what I should

be like, right? I'm kidding about that. Some

of you are probably 46. Most of you are not.

You're like 12. Welcome. Anyhow, you get it.

Things that are right expose things that are

broken. That's what it is. That's how it works.

So as we live in Christ and the Spirit of God

lives in us through the Holy Spirit, it begins

to expose, if we're living in that light, so

to speak, it begins to expose the darkness in

the world around us. Have you ever noticed turning

on a light instantly changes the dynamic of a

room, right? In the dark, you don't see the dust

on the baseboards. You don't see whatever, the

imperfections of the room. As soon as you turn

the light on, the clutter becomes obvious. The

things that are hidden suddenly become visible

in the presence of Christ. That's what Jesus

is driving at, does that to the human heart.

And Jesus was saying, there are going to be people

that are just not going to like that. They're

not going to like that. Not everyone is going

to welcome that. So when the gospel calls people

to something greater than their temporary pleasure,

some respond with joy. I mean, Baptism Sunday

is a response to that. You've seen it for yourself.

So some respond with joy, and some respond in

surrender posture like, hey, yeah, you're right.

Things in my life need to change. There's some

brokenness. There's some impurities. Things that

I need to let go of and surrender and turn towards

Christ. And the response of joy is evident because

they're up here in front of all of you saying,

I'm ready. I'm ready to be made new in Christ.

And then others respond with resistance. And

Jesus wanted his disciples to know that this

is to be expected. So this is the reality of

opposition. all that we could say about Jesus,

one of the things that certainly should be said

is that he was just a realist. Like he wasn't

trying to pull punches with him. He's just trying

to say, this is what it is. There's a reality

to this opposition that you're going to experience,

but rejection does not mean failure. It does

not mean failure. Quite often it's evidence that

you truly belong to Christ. There's an inescapable

reality to it. And here's something that I want

to see from this first part is that as Jesus

went first in love, Jesus also went first in

rejection. If the response to Jesus extending

the most perfect form of love that has ever been

displayed was rejection and hatred, why should

I expect anything different? And I mean, just

this morning, I was, as we were singing, I was

thinking all the things that are in my heart.

I was thinking of a friend who no longer talks

to me because of my faith in Jesus. Someone that

I was close with for many years. And American

politics, thank you very much, divided that.

But I think, you know, yeah, soapbox, but I'll

say it. It's not ultimately about politics. It's

about transformation in Christ. And faith in

Jesus sometimes becomes a source of division,

as much as I wish it wasn't. Because that's a

friend I miss. It's a friend that I would love

to be reconnected to. But I don't know that that's

possible. So when I get in that headspace of

like, woe is me, I'm like, wait, Jesus went first

in love. He also went first in rejection. He

modeled this for us. He showed us how to do this.

Do we like it? No. But it is a reality. He wanted

him to grasp this reality before he was gone.

1 John 3 .13, don't be surprised, brothers and

sisters, if the world hates you. Strong words.

So that's the reality of the opposition. Then

Jesus gives them the reason for the opposition.

By the way, they don't all start with ours. If

you're getting excited that they do, they don't.

The reason for opposition, reality, reason. We

sort of already considered this, but let's look

at a few more verses in John 15, verse 21. But

John 15:21

they will do all these things to you on account

of my name, because they don't know the one who

sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them,

they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have

no excuse for their sin. The one who hates me

also hates my father. If I had not done the works

among them that no one else has done, they would

not be guilty of sin. In other words, it exposed

them. Now they have seen and hated both me and

my father, but this happened so that the statement

written in their law might be fulfilled. They

hated me for no reason. So Jesus sort of doubles

down here, right? He's taking this a little deeper.

A lot deeper, you should say. He wants them to

understand that the hostility that they're going

to experience is not merely cultural or social,

but rather spiritual. As I was just describing

to you with my friendship with this friend that

I had. He will tell you it's political. It's

not. It's spiritual. And Jesus is trying to help

them understand, like, it's not cultural. It's

not social. It's spiritual. That's what he meant

in verse 21. The fuel of their opposition. It's

not ultimately you, Peter and John and Andrew,

as he's looking around and talking to these disciples.

You're not ultimately their problem. That's not

ultimately what they're mad about or angry about

or rejecting. It has nothing to do with you.

The fuel of their opposition would be simply

their ignorance of God. And I say that in a compassionate

way, like they just don't know God. There's a

relational disconnect behind the opposition and

behind the hatred that just don't know the Father.

And no doubt, you've experienced this before.

If somebody misunderstands me deeply, they're

more likely to criticize me. They're more likely

to make unfair statements about me. They're more

likely to show opposition towards me. If they

misunderstand me, they assume motives that you

never had. I mean, you understand it. They might

even just flat out reject you entirely because

they've heard about you. so to speak. Why? Because

they don't truly know you. Jesus says the same

dynamic happens with God. Humanity, who was created

to know him, but sin has distorted that relationship,

and so there's two roads ahead. One is to fix

that, if you will. Thank you, Jesus. The other

is just to continue forward in this state of

brokenness and ignorance, if you will, towards

God. And so Jesus is saying that this is, In

a perfect world, God has created you to know

the Father. That's what you're created to do

and to know and to experience. But sin has distorted

that. And so we don't fully know God as he's

designed us to. And yet, here's the paradox that

Jesus gives us. The very presence of Christ removes

that excuse of ignorance, if you will. That's

what verse 22 is. If I had not come and spoken

to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But

now, now they have no excuse for their sin. What's

the old saying? Ignorance is what? Bliss. Why

don't people, for example, go to the doctor?

Because they don't want to hear what they don't

want to hear. Right? Ignorance is bliss. And

by the way, I'm guilty of that. I can't tell

you the last time I went to the doctor. And it's

because the dude moved and didn't tell me he

was moving. But I'll get over it. I just haven't

got around to finding a new one. Why don't we

go? Because we don't want to hear. The hard truth.

Like, eh, I'm good. Until the doctor's like,

no, this is A, B, and C. You need to fix this.

They don't want to hear the hard truth. So if

they just don't know, then they don't have to

act. They don't have to do differently. I don't

have to act if I don't know. I don't have to

do differently if I don't know. And Jesus was

saying, me, him, the light has come into the

world, and people must choose how to respond.

The doctor has given you the news. You got to

decide what you're going to do with it. Are you

going to ignore it and this disease will kill

you? Or will you follow my instructions and advice,

if you will, and be made whole and healthy? Some

people will, right? I mean, baptism Sunday, some

people will open the door. And the light will

come in and expose it. Others will just pull

the curtains tighter. But either way, Jesus is

forcing a decision. This is why Christianity

has been both attractive and controversial, right?

Because it draws some people in with life -changing

power that transforms them. We hear their stories.

We celebrate that. And others, it provokes resistance

and persecution. The message of Jesus confronts

our pride, our self -sufficiency. our illusions

of control. It tells us that we cannot save ourselves,

and for many people, that is just the hardest

truth of all. I mean, I've been a pastor long

enough to know, like, nobody has a problem with

Easter. If Jesus wants to rise from the dead,

good. No skin off my back. They don't care. That's

not controversial. What's controversial about

Easter? It's like, hey, by the way, because of

his resurrection, he invites you into a new life,

which means you have to make some changes to

your life. You have to get rid of some demons,

if you will, that are in the closet. You've got

to get rid of some pet sins. You've got to pursue

holiness. You've got to strive for obedience.

That's the rub for people with Jesus. Easter

is fun. It's fine. Christmas Eve is beautiful.

We have all the adjectives to go with it. What's

the rub with Jesus is that Jesus is like, by

the way, because you celebrate Easter and because

of Christmas Eve, the fact that I was born as

a human and came and lived a human life and died

a human death and rose again, you got to make

a decision. You got to make a decision. And that

bothers some people. And so when I... Where I

was going with that is when I encounter people

who are resistant to Jesus, I don't know that

at their core they have a problem with Jesus.

Like, first century Jewish man is fine, nice,

did good things. They have a problem with what

Jesus demands of their life and what he's asking

them to do with their life, which is to what?

Pick up your cross and come follow me. down the

narrow path that few will find and that is difficult

to walk versus the broad path that many will

find that leads to destruction. But Jesus reminds

his disciples that none of this takes God by

surprise. The rejection of Christ was foretold

in scripture and fulfilled in history. The cross

was not an accident. It's not an accident. It

wasn't just like the Romans were like, we don't

know what else to do, kill the guy. It was...

predetermined. It was part of God's perfect loving

plan, if you can try and get your head around

that, which is difficult to do. It wasn't an

accident. It was the culmination of the world's

rebellion and the beginning of God's redemption

story. Like, imagine if Jesus is on the earth

and he's doing all these things and he's healing

people and he's making all these promises and

then just gone. And there is no crucifixion and

there is no resurrection. Like, what a cruel

divine, sick joke that God would be playing on

us. Like, we tease this with Jesus, but he didn't

go to the cross. He didn't fulfill the mission.

And so there is no redemption for us. It was

like, well, that's what it would have looked

like, but you don't get a chance at it. But that's

not how it unfolded, right? This was a culmination

of the world's rebellion and the beginning of

God's redemption story before Jesus left and

before the Holy Spirit came. And then you come

to the end of chapter 15, the beginning of chapter

16, and Jesus picks back up the promise of the

Holy Spirit. So he gives us next our responsibility

despite opposition. It's found primarily in verses

26 and 27. It says this, when the counselor comes,

that's the Holy Spirit, the one I will send to

you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who

proceeds from the Father, he will testify about

me. Here it is. Here's our responsibility. You

also will testify because you have been with

me from the beginning. So Jesus is now describing

the mission of the church and the mission of

his followers. Notice the sequence. Opposition

does not cancel the mission. It clarifies it.

Opposition does not cancel the mission. It clarifies

it. So as a follower of Jesus. I'm called to

be a witness. I'm called to testify about what

I've seen and experienced in Christ. And a witness

does not create the truth. A witness simply testifies

to what they know. Think of a courtroom and a

legal proceeding when they call witness to the

stand, right? The witness doesn't argue the entire

case. That's the job of the attorneys. The witness

is simply up there to say, this is what I saw

and this is what I experienced. This is my word.

This is the heart of Christian witness. It does

not... merely presenting arguments or debating

ideas. It is sharing the reality of what Christ

has done. And the testimony carries a powerful,

carries power that no argument can replace. I

think of, I'm going to show you this. This is

a scene in John chapter 9 where Jesus heals the

John 9 · chapter mention

blind man. And what's so interesting is that

they're questioning the blind man who, by the

way, is no longer blind because Jesus has healed

him, about who is Jesus. And they're trying to

put him in the corner like, come on. Wrap this

guy out for who he really is. So here it is in

John 9. So a second time they summoned the man

who had been blind and told him, second time,

by the way, first time didn't go, they didn't

get the answer they wanted. Second time they

summoned the man who had been blind and told

him, give glory to God. We know, meaning Jesus,

that this man is a sinner. He answered, whether

or not he's a sinner, I don't know. One thing

I do know, my testimony, I was blind and now

I can see. In other words, You can debate theology

all day. You can debate theology all day, but

my transformation, my testimony is undeniable.

And never more so in his case, he was literally

blind and now he could see. I would imagine there

wouldn't be an empty seat in the room if I had

a former blind person come in here and say, Jesus

healed me and I fully see. It would be like,

oh my, it's undeniable. And I've had so many

people tell me that they love Baptism Sundays

at LBC. And the way that we do it, primarily

because they get to hear the testimony of every

person that goes into the waters of baptism.

And look, that's our way of doing it. I'm not

saying it's right, although it is. But I'm saying

it's powerful. It's a story. It's a testimony

that you're like, ah. Theology seems a bit over

my head, but man, that's a story of transformation

that you cannot deny. That person used to do

this and be this way and live this way, and now

they're surrendered their life to Christ. And

you're like, I don't know about what some of

these scriptures mean. I don't know what sanctification

means. I don't know what transformation means,

but I know that I'm seeing somebody who is different

and has been transformed by Jesus. And the disciples

had walked with Jesus. They had listened to his

words. They had watched his miracles. They had

witnessed the resurrection. They were living

testimonies. And that's why most of them lost

their life for the gospel, because they couldn't

silence their testimony. Like, your story is

your story. You don't have to like my theology,

but you can't deny my story of transformation.

And that's exactly what happened with the disciples.

When Jesus was gone, they're like, We're never

going to be the same because of him. And, I mean,

they all had their story, and most of them, if

not all of them, were eventually martyred because

of that. The same is true today, not in America

primarily, but what is true in America is that

we each have a story of grace, and each one of

us is called to be a witness, to be a witness.

And to the people that are so afraid on baptism,

I mean, bless their heart. There's so many people

over the years that are like, I'm just scared

to talk in front of people and I tell them this.

You need to tell your story because somebody

needs to hear your story. Like, there's going

to be a me too moment when you're up there shaking.

Someone else needs to hear your story. It's a

story of grace. It's a story of transformation.

It's a story of redemption. Like, this is a moment

of celebration. that you cannot deny. And that's

the calling, even in spite of the opposition,

that we have a responsibility to still carry

out the mission. And that is done primarily through

just living into your story and to be a witness

for it and not back down from it. The world may

debate theology, but it cannot ignore or erase

a transformed life. Our responsibility remains

in spite of opposition. What is it? First Peter

chapter three, but in your hearts. regard Christ

the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a

defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for

the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness

and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so

that when you are accused, those who disparage

your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

It's a simple way of saying like, be ready when

people ask you like, what's the deal with your

life? You tell them your story of redemption

and grace. Notice that it's from a place of,

testimony, not condemnation. So when people ask

me about Jesus, I tell them about Jesus, how

Jesus has worked in my life. I don't say, hey,

by the way, dude, what is the deal with whatever's

going on in their life? And it's a place, it's

leading from a platform of grace. confidence

in the power of the gospel, like as I share and

as I live into that and I'm consistent in that,

that that does the transformational work to get

people curious towards what this thing about

Jesus is all about. Last part of the text, chapter

16, Jesus' promise to the Holy Spirit, a passage

you might be familiar with from our Things Unseen

series, but here we get from Jesus, this is the

last one, the help for opposition. So Jesus knew

that the mission would be impossible without

divine help, so he makes them this promise. I

have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.

What does he mean? He means when it squeezes

you and you want to give up, I'm telling you

these things so that you won't. Because when

it gets hard, you're going to be inclined to

stumble and to quit. I have told you these things

to keep you from stumbling. They will ban you

from the synagogues. In fact, the time is coming

when anyone who kills you will think he is offering

service to God. They will do these things because

they have not known the Father or me. But I have

told you these things so that when their time

comes, you will remember that I told them to

you. I did not tell you these things from the

beginning because I was with you. You didn't

need to know them. But now I am going away to

him who sent me. And none of you asked me, where

are you going? Now that's kind of confusing because

Peter was like, show us the way. Don't have time

to explain that. It's in this week's carryover.

Yet, because I have spoken these things to you,

sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I'm

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. When he comes, he'll have some

work to do. He will convict the world of sin,

righteousness, judgment, about sin because they

do not believe in me, about righteousness because

I'm going to the Father, and you will no longer

see me, and about judgment because the ruler

of this world has been judged. I still have many

things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide

you into all 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.

He will glorify me because he will take from

mine what is mine and declare it to you. 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. I pointed it out in our Things Unseen

series, but it's worth stating again. Jesus says

something so remarkable in verse 7. It is for

your benefit that I go away. Imagine hearing

that as you're one of the disciples in that room

that night, especially after this new little

bit of news from Jesus, the fine print, if you

will, like, oh, by the way, they're going to

ban you from the synagogue, and they're going

to try and kill you, and they're going to hate

you. And, oh, it's to your advantage that I'm

not here with you. Like, what? You're our muscles,

man. You're our protector. And Jesus is like,

it's better that I go away. How could it possibly

be better? I mean, we wrestled with this in that

series, right? How could it possibly be better?

Because through the Holy Spirit, Christ's presence

would dwell within every one of them. So what

does that mean? Instead of Christ beside them,

they would have Christ within them. And that

would change everything. That would change everything.

And this promised spirit that would be within

them would perform several vital works according

to Jesus. What would it do? Convict the world

concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

And it should be stated. That conviction is not

condemnation. Conviction is illumination. It

just turns the light on. It is the moment when

truth becomes undeniable. It's like the light

being turned on in the room that we talked about

earlier. And the Spirit awakens people to the

seriousness of sin. When do your kids learn hard

things? When they learn it for themselves. You

can stand there and tell them all day, don't

touch the burner when it's hot. when are they

most inclined to not touch the burner? After

they what? Touch the burner. And I believe for

all of my friends that are far from Jesus, don't

believe in Jesus, don't like the church, don't

like Christianity, not many of those friends.

Where it will click for them when it's illuminated

for them in their lives rather than me with my

Bible over their head all the time. As you know,

you're a sinner. There has to be conviction.

It's not condemnation. Conviction is illumination.

It's like the light being turned on. And the

Spirit awakens people to the seriousness of sin,

to the beauty of righteousness, and to the certainty

of judgment. And no human persuasion can produce

this kind of transformation. Only the Spirit

of God can open spiritual eyes. And Jesus also

says the Spirit will guide believers into truth.

He's doing that for us. Christian growth is not

merely intellectual learning. It's spiritual

illumination that comes through the Spirit of

God. Have you ever read a passage in the Bible

that you've read so many times before, but then

suddenly it just kind of comes alive? Maybe it's

a season that you're in. Maybe it's something

that somebody shared with you. Whatever. Maybe.

Words that seem distant suddenly feel personal.

And this is the quiet work of the Spirit of God

to illuminate truth in your life and in my life.

He helps us discern truth in a confusing world.

Is the world confusing? Yes. Yes. The Holy Spirit

is like a skilled guide that's walking us through

unfamiliar territory. And without him, we are

prone to wander. You know that. But with him,

we move forward. And then finally, Jesus says

the Spirit's ultimate purpose is to glorify him.

And the Spirit does not draw attention to himself,

but rather he points people towards Christ. This

is some pneumatology, some theology of the Holy

Spirit. Don't get lost in it. It's not the intent.

I'm just trying to clarify for you what Jesus

is saying. This Holy Spirit is not just Casper

the friendly ghost who has a job to do. And these

are its jobs, if you will. Spotlight illuminates

an actor on a stage. The Spirit of God illuminates

Christ at the center of history. And he helps

us see Christ more clearly, love him more deeply,

follow him more faithfully. I would say if those

are struggles for you, that you're probably not

listening to the Holy Spirit. Because the role

of the Holy Spirit is to help those things happen

in our lives. In our lives. So, to wrap up. If

your faith in Jesus brings criticism or misunderstanding,

I would say remember that Jesus predicted it.

And the goal of Christianity is not just to have

the loudest voice in the room and to be the most

persuasive theologically. The goal of Christianity

is faithfulness to Christ. Popularity is temporary.

Faithfulness is eternal. But here's the danger

of this text, and I promise I'll close with this.

I know when Joe was here, you got out like 25

minutes early, and he's your hero. He's not here

today for a reason. I'm just kidding. I'm just

kidding. I'm just kind of, but anyhow. Here's

the danger of this text. I promise I just, I

need you to hear this. And then we'll close.

The danger of this text is that some of us will

hear Jesus' words and think, it's me versus the

world. Come and get me. Like, they're going to

hate me. I'll show them. And we puff up our chest

and we flex our muscles and we're ready for war.

That's the danger of this text. Because you hear

like, oh, the world will hate you. You're like,

oh, no, they won't. I'm going to hate them. being

not of the world does not mean withdrawing from

people who might, in the words of Jesus, hate

you. That is not what being not of the world

does not mean that. Because if you look at the

life of Jesus, he ate with sinners, he spoke

with outsiders, he showed compassion to the broken.

That was the source of rub against all the religious

leaders of the day. Who are the people that hated

Jesus most? The religious leaders. because he

didn't march to their orders and he sat around

tables with people that they were like, no, you

don't. So the drive of this text is not to get

you to go home and build your spiritual bubble

and be like, I'm never talking to anybody who

doesn't live exactly like me, go to my church,

listen to my music, think my thoughts. Not the

goal of this. We are called to stand out and

be a light on a hill, to draw near relationally.

Where were Jesus' strongest moments of impact

when he was right next to people? Right next

to people. Truth without love becomes harsh.

Love without truth becomes hollow. Truth without

love becomes harsh. Love without truth becomes

hollow. And the gospel holds together these things

in perfect union in a weird tension that I can't

totally understand myself. But you cannot do

this in your own human strength. Because one

of two things will happen. You will become so

self -righteous that you will lose your ability

to have an impact for the gospel. Or you will

stumble and fall away from the influence of the

world. It's so hard to get it right. That's why

you can't get it right in your own strength.

The courage to stand firm, the wisdom to speak

truth, the love to reach others all come from

the Spirit. We need the Spirit's guidance every

single day. And Jesus spoke these words to prepare

his disciples for the road ahead. They would

face rejection. They would face persecution.

They would face hardship. But he also knew something

greater, which is that the Spirit would come.

And when it did, the gospel would spread and

the kingdom of God would advance. From ordinary

people empowered by an extraordinary God. And

within a few short decades, the message that

began in this upper room would spread to cities

across the Roman Empire. And the world that would

eventually crucify Jesus would hear his name

proclaimed everywhere. Everywhere. And it happened.

It happened. Because of ordinary believers, followers

of Jesus, trusting the promise of Christ and

the power of the Spirit. You are not alone. and

you are not powerless, and you are not abandoned,

and the Spirit of God is within you, and the

light of Christ still shines in the darkness

today. Do you believe it? Do you believe it?

It's through you, and it's through me. Let's

pray together. Father, thank you. Thank you for

this promise. It's heavy. Jesus said so clearly,

if they rejected you, if they hated you, know

that that was true for me first. A servant is

not greater than his master. And you are our

master. We surrender to you. We live our lives

in obedience to you, albeit imperfectly. All

of us have at one point or another avoided going

to the doctor, quote unquote. It's just easier

to kind of live in a place of ignorance. than

it is to be really confronted with the truth

and to make a decision. And so give us grace

in our own journey and give us confidence in

our story. We have a story to share. It's one

of grace. It's one of transformation. It's one

of redemption. Let us step into those moments

rather than to back down from those moments,

believing that Just like the blind man in John

John 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9, whether or not Jesus is this or that,

I don't know. There are some things that maybe

are confusing to me, but one thing I'm certain

of is that I was blind and now I see. Indisputable

transformation. Make us confident ambassadors

of that today. We pray these things in Jesus'

name. Amen.