Help When Hated

Spirit of living God, would you fall afresh upon us now.

That we would see and treasure Jesus.

! That we would see and treasure Jesus.

and that we would hold his words to heart.

All for the glory of you, Father.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory

because of your steadfast love and faithfulness.

And God, I just want to say thank you so much

for giving us eyes to see the goodness of the gospel

which is you.

You are our treasure.

In Jesus' name, amen.

You may be seated.

Kiddos, you're with us this morning.

I'll try to keep you enraptured.

If you'd open up your Bibles to John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

we've been making our way through the gospel of John.

That's our typical practice here at Christ the King Church.

It's preaching through books of the Bible.

And as you're turning there, John 15, 18 through 27,

it's on page 1072,

I've got a pressing question for you.

How do you handle being hated?

How do you handle hate towards you?

Now, sometimes that hate can be an explosive hate

like a volcanic eruption.

It's heat.

It's bright.

You've got lava spewing all over you.

It burns you.

Other times that hate can be a smoldering heat.

It's kind of like glowing embers of a campfire

that you don't know that they're there

until you kind of step in it.

There's another kind of heat that I'll share with you later.

But how do you handle heat?

Whether eruptive or whether it is smoldering

that is directed at you.

And some of you are like,

what?

What are you talking about?

Nobody hates me.

I am so nice.

How can I ever be hated?

I can't think of anyone who hates me.

Oh, unhated one.

I know you hate.

Whether that is explosive or smoldering.

I know you resent.

I know you gossip.

I know you avoid.

I know you have hard feelings towards other people,

which is all not loving.

I know because I know myself.

How would you respond to your own hatred towards yourself?

Most of us, when hated,

it's either fight or flight.

If you're hated,

you want to put up the dukes and fight back,

knuckle sandwiches,

let the fists fly,

maybe it's not an actual knuckle sandwich,

but maybe it's a verbal knuckle sandwich.

Others of us,

when the heat comes,

we're like,

where's the exit?

We want to split.

We want to get out of there.

Because with the heat of hate,

we start to feel threatened.

We start going self-preservation.

How do you handle heat?

The heat of hate.

Do you know what I find really interesting about the passage we're about to look at this morning?

Here it is.

Jesus has just talked to us about abiding in him.

He's the vine.

We're the branches.

We're to bear much fruit to the glory of God the Father,

and experience fullness of joy.

Do I have an amen?

Amen.

And that means that when I am abiding in Christ,

everybody's going to think I'm really nice.

You know what's striking about this passage?

He makes a pivot.

In verse 18,

he makes a pivot.

You abide in me, Christian,

and the world will hate you.

Abiding in Christ

results in being hated by the world.

How do you deal with being hated, Christian?

In 1965,

the Surgeon General of the United States

started stamping

a kind of like caution

on cigarette boxes,

and it read like this.

Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.

But then in 1969,

it went from a caution

to a warning.

And now it reads,

the Surgeon General of the United States

has determined that cigarette smoking

is dangerous to your health.

This morning we have a Savior General warning

that abiding in Christ

is dangerous to your reputation.

It's dangerous to your well-being.

And if you're not a Christian in the room,

this Savior General

is being very clear to you.

It will cost you to follow Jesus.

So this morning,

we're going to look at this passage,

and I want you to see

three groups of people,

the hated,

the haters,

and the Helper.

Read with me verses 18 through 27.

If the world hates you,

since the world hates you,

know that it has hated me

before it hated you.

This is Jesus speaking.

If you were of the world,

the world would love you as its own.

But because you're not of the world,

but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you.

Remember the word that I said to you,

a servant is not greater than his master?

If they persecuted me,

they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word,

they will also keep yours.

But all these things

they will do to you

on account of my name,

because they do not know

him who sent me.

If I had not come and spoken to them,

they would not have been guilty of sin.

But now they have no excuse for their sin.

Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

If I had not done among them

the works that no one else did,

they would not be guilty of sins.

But now they have seen and hated

both me and the Father.

But the word that is written in their law,

Psalm 69, must be fulfilled.

They hated me without a cause.

But when the Helper comes,

whom I will send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth,

who proceeds from the Father,

he will bear witness about me.

And you also will bear witness.

Because you have been with me

from the beginning.

The hated, the haters, and the Helper.

Let's start with the hated.

Who are the hated in verses 18 through 21?

There's a New Testament scholar,

his name is Robert Yarborough,

and in his commentary on the Gospel of John,

that he argues that the word if in verse 18,

that starts verse 18,

should be since.

Since the world hates you.

He's talking to his disciples.

This is just hours before Jesus is crucified.

The Last Supper has taken place.

Judas has been possessed by Satan

and has gone off into the night.

Now Jesus is getting his disciples ready.

This is the farewell discourse.

He's preparing for them

for when he's absent from them.

In 14.1, he says,

let not your hearts be troubled.

And then he exhorts them

to abide in him,

to bear much fruit.

And then here he pivots,

and you'll be hated by the world.

And just a reminder of who the world is.

It's not the planet.

Jesus is speaking about sinful humanity

in organized rebellion against God.

Those who are dead in their sins.

Those who are following

the prince of the power of the air.

Those who are under God's wrath,

just wrath for their sins.

Those whom we once were among.

You're going to be hated by the world.

Not just the disciples,

but those who would follow

after the disciples.

Us.

Not the OG disciples.

Us too.

Whether it is some kind of

explosive hate,

or smoldering hate,

or another hate,

then I'm going to tell you,

Jesus says that the disciples

will both experience

fruitful abiding in him

that is full of joy

and hatred from the world.

That's extraordinary to me.

But you know what?

That speaks of reality to me.

All who are abiding in Christ

and bearing fruit for the glory

of the Father

by the power of the Holy Spirit

will be hated by the world.

The question is why?

Why will the world hate us?

Well, Jesus gives us

some reasons here.

In verse 19,

he says this.

If you were of the world,

the world would love you

as its own.

If you are still

in the world, Christian,

the world would be like,

we love you.

You're part of the family.

Then he says,

but because you're not

of the world,

but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you.

You once were of the world,

but now you're not of the world.

You're out of the world

because I chose you

and because you're out of the world

that you used to be in,

the world's going to hate you for that.

How does that work?

Here's how it works.

Well, we once were of the world.

Before we were regenerated

by the Holy Spirit

and before we repented of our sins,

before we put our trust in Jesus,

we used to be numbered

with the world.

We fit right in.

We were gladly living for sin.

We were gladly,

though not aware,

following the prince

of the power of the air.

We were fine with all that stuff.

But when Jesus saved us,

he called us out of the world

to himself.

And now we are no longer

of the world,

though we are still living

in the world,

but now we stand out

from the world.

Here's how that shakes out.

Here's how,

here's why you're hated for that.

You make crazy claims.

Jesus said,

I'm the way,

the truth,

and life.

No one comes to the Father

but through me.

It's an exclusive claim

of salvation.

There's forgiveness

in no one else.

There's no other name

given among men

by which we can be saved.

It's only the name of Jesus.

And so that means

all Muslims

are out of the running

to be saved.

All Jews

are out of the running

to be saved.

All DYI,

do-it-yourself

kind of religions

are out of the running.

It is offensive

to people.

When you make this claim,

yeah,

what I believe

is the only way

to heaven,

people are offended

by that.

But it's just not that.

When you start

saying things

to other people

about Jesus'

sexual ethics,

I believe that

homosexuality

is grievous

in God's sight.

It's sinful.

Because Jesus

in Matthew 19,

he lays out

what human sexuality

should be,

how it should be experienced.

One man,

one woman,

four life,

joined together by God

in marriage.

And so that means

adultery is wrong.

That means cohabitating

before you're married

is sinful

and wrong

in God's sight.

You say that enough

around people

and they will avoid you

and hate you.

And then there's just

the awkwardness.

Oh, here comes Mike

to the family gathering again.

I wonder what he's

going to preach on today.

Oh, look it.

Here comes rainy cloud, Mike.

He's going to rain

on our sin parade.

You know what it's like.

You're just trying

to be faithful

and you get avoided.

You get talked about

behind your back.

You don't get invited

to stuff.

When I was a freshman

in college,

I did,

I made a bold move

as a freshman football player.

Bold move,

maybe dumb,

but bold.

And nobody invited

to the mic

at any parties.

I've seen as a freak.

Your non-Christian friends say,

hey, let's get drunk

this weekend.

You're like,

no,

no thank you.

Non-Christian friends say,

man,

it's been rough.

You want to go

get high?

You're like,

no, no, no,

no thank you.

When someone like,

hey, let's go.

Everybody is working

for the weekend.

Everybody's looking

for a new romance.

Let's get lucky.

No, no, no,

no thank you.

Look at this porn thing.

No, no, no,

no thank you.

Do you mind lying

on your expense report?

We got to make things work.

Hey,

I didn't study

for my test.

Can I look over

on yours?

Cheat, cheat,

never be.

No.

Can't do that

because it's going

to grieve my king.

You do that enough

and you know what?

People are going

to hate you.

Who made you

judge and jury?

You know what

I'm talking about.

You're looking

to abide

in the vine.

Let his word

abide in you.

You're just like,

I want to experience

the fullness of joy

of living for Jesus

and you get hated.

It's where we live,

folks.

We've been called out

by Jesus,

by his grace,

by his initiating grace.

He has called us

out of sinful humanity

in organized rebellion

against God

and he has called us

into redeemed humanity

in organized worship

of the living God

to bear fruit,

to bring glory

to his name.

Once you were

of the world,

but now by God's grace

you have been called

out of the world,

yet you still

live in the world,

so you're going

to catch heat.

This is Jesus

telling me that.

This is what

conversion does.

When you put your faith

in Jesus,

he brings about

this radical change

of who you are

at the heart level.

Not just behaviors,

behaviors,

but behaviors

that change

because he's

changed your heart.

The spirit of God

has changed your heart.

Now you want

to obey him.

Now you want

to live for him

and it's going

to cause you

to stand out

from those

who you've been

living with

for years.

Another reason

Jesus gives

is he says,

you're not greater

than me,

remember?

If they persecuted me,

they're going

to persecute you.

18,

if the world

hates you,

since the world

hates you,

hey,

it hated me first.

You know what

one of the greatest

consolations is

when you are

suffering the heat

of hate

from non-Christians?

It's knowing this.

You're seeking

to abide in Jesus

in the moment

and you're like,

oh Lord Jesus,

you know this

firsthand.

You are a sympathetic

high priest.

You've been hated

too.

You know this.

There is great

assurance

in these words.

He's the first

to be hated.

He knows the hate.

You can summarize

this in verse 21.

It's this,

but all these things

they will do

to you

on account

of my name.

On account

of my name.

And that's just

more than the name

of Jesus.

when the Bible

talks about

the name

of someone,

they're talking

about all

of who they are.

All of what

they've done.

It's what

that name

represents.

And what Jesus

is saying is

when you catch

heat for me,

it's for me.

it's for who I

am,

God in the flesh,

the Son of Man,

the Son of God,

the Savior of the

world,

our risen King,

catching heat

for me,

for my sake.

So to abide

in Christ

will result

in you

bearing fruit

for the living

God,

and part of that

is joy

and the fullness

of God,

and yet you

will be hated

too.

The haters,

well,

we're the hated,

and it's a result

of abiding

in Jesus.

Are you abiding

in Jesus?

Jesus?

Are you?

So we now

move from

those who are

hated

to the haters.

You want to

start fighting?

Yeah,

let's talk

about the haters.

A word

about the

haters.

Those who

will hate us

on account

of the name

of Jesus.

Who are

the haters?

In verse

21,

at the end

of verse 21,

we're told

who the haters

are.

Look at

the end

of verse 21.

Because they

do not know

him who

sent me.

What Jesus

is saying

is you

will be

hated

because

your haters

do not

know

the one

who sent

Jesus,

which kind

of sounds

innocent.

Oh,

they just

don't know.

And so

we're being

hated

because of

people's

ignorance.

ignorance.

It's not

that.

This isn't

some kind

of like

innocent

ignorance.

These people

who don't

know

him who

sent

Jesus,

they are

people who

have rejected

him who

sent Jesus.

This is

conscience

rejection.

rejection.

You're

catching

heat by

people who

don't agree

with you.

They've

rejected

Jesus,

the Son of

God,

the Christ,

and the

Father who

sent him.

What they're

doing is

they're

rejecting

God's

plan for

the fullness

of time,

his fullness

of time

plan of

salvation.

They are

rejecting

it.

And in

verse

22 we

read,

if I had

not come

and spoken

to him,

they would

not have

been guilty

of sin.

Oh man,

what does

that mean?

What sin

is he

talking

about?

It's the

sin of

rejecting

Jesus.

I mean,

they have,

they don't

know the

one who

sent

Jesus.

They don't

know God,

the Father,

and they

have rejected

his sending

of the

Son.

That's the

sin Jesus

is talking

about.

They are

without

excuse.

Jesus

had

clearly

revealed

who he

is.

He'd

made some

crazy

claims.

Remember

this one

at the

end of

John 8,

before

Abraham

was,

I am?

And

he was

rejected

for that.

So what

this is

talking

about

is the

sin of

unbelief.

The sin

that goes,

it's not

believing that

Jesus is

God incarnate,

the good

shepherd who

laid down

his life

for the

sheep.

It's a

rejection

of that.

You see,

here's what

you need to

understand,

Christian.

Our

haters are

actually

haters of

heaven.

Their

hatred for

you is

just

symptomatic

of a

greater

hate.

And they're

without

excuse.

We see

it again

in verse

24.

Jesus

says to

them,

if I

had not

done among

them the

works that

no one

else did,

they would

not be

guilty of

sin.

But he

did do

these

works.

And they

are responsible

for that.

He's the

one,

do you

remember

this?

He healed

the guy

on the

Sabbath by

the pool

of Shalom.

Do you

remember

this?

He gave

sight to

a man

born blind.

Do you

remember

this?

He raised

Lazarus

from the

dead?

Nobody

else has

done anything

like it.

He himself

said he

would die

and be

raised on

the third

day and

he was

raised on

the third

day.

No one

else has

done anything

like that.

And they

still rejected

him.

Brothers and

sisters,

the people

who we

will experience

the heat

of hate

from,

they're

without

excuse.

Romans 1.

They've

rejected the

God of

heaven.

And God

has handed

them over

to their

sin.

Which brings

me to

a kind

of heat.

heat.

It's

not the

explosive

heat.

It's not

the smoldering

heat.

It's the

seductive

heat of

the world.

It's 1

John 2,

15-17.

It's the

world trying

to woo

you away

from your

God

to delight

in the

things that

grieve

God.

if you're

a married

person in

the room

and someone

tried to

seduce your

spouse,

you would

not say

that that

person is

loving you

or your

spouse,

would you?

You'd say

they're hating

you.

The world

hates in a

variety of

ways.

One of

them is to

pull you

into its

own way

of being

in their

rebellion

against

God.

They have

rejected

God.

God has

put on the

conscience of

all men.

His law

has been

written on

their hearts

and they

willingly

reject it.

That's why

Jesus starts

talking about

whoever hates

me hates

the Father.

You reject

me, you

reject him.

God loves

God.

Last week I

tried to

show you

that this

chain reaction

of God's

love like a

cascading

waterfall.

It's God

the Father

loves God

the Son

and God

the Son

loves you

and me

individually,

Christians,

and that

cascading

love then

moves out

from us

to other

Christians.

It's the

opposite with

the world.

the world

hates you

because the

world hates

Jesus,

because the

world hates

the Father.

They would

never say

it.

The world's

hatred for

you,

brother and

sister,

is just

symptomatic of

the rejection

of God.

unbelief

is not

neutral.

Unbelief

is not

neutral.

It's going

to show up

in some

form of

heat,

whether

explosive

or smoldering

or seductive.

So how

do we

respond to

our haters,

those who

are dead

to God,

who are

following the

prince of

the power

of the

air,

whether they

know it

or not,

who are

under God's

wrath?

How do we

respond to

them?

We love

those who

hate us.

We love

them.

We don't

hate back.

Do you

remember

the story

of Paul's

conversion

in Acts

9?

Paul,

the apostle

Paul,

before he

was an

apostle,

he was

an apostle

of hate.

He was

sent forth

to persecute

the church,

the redeemed

of God.

And then

Jesus shows

up and

totally flips

him.

He repose

him.

He was

doing the

deeds of

darkness

murderous,

destructive,

and then

Jesus flips

him.

and makes

him an

apostle of

the gospel.

That's

extraordinary.

God

loved

the apostle

Paul more

than Paul

hated

Christians.

Christians.

And we

are to

love

those

who

hate

us.

Do you

remember

Jesus

teaching

about how

to respond

to our

enemies

in Matthew

5?

We are

to love

our enemies

just as

God

has loved

us when

we were

his enemies.

One of the

things that

I've been

waiting to

tell you is

never

forget that

you were

numbered

among the

world.

Never

forget

that.

You

too

used to

be dead

to God,

alive to

your sin,

following the

prince of

the power

of the

air.

You were

under God's

wrath.

You were

a happy

non-Christian

and then

Jesus interrupted

all that

because his

love was

greater

than your

sinfulness.

God's

God's

grabbed you.

He chose

you out of

the world

and that

has a

tenderizing

effect.

It must

have a

tenderizing

effect on

us when

we are on

the receiving

end of

heat from

non-Christians

that some

we love,

some we don't

have relationships

with.

We must

love them.

This is the

way of the

gospel.

This is

gospel love.

This is how

we love in

the spirit

those who

hate us.

in the

heat of

hate,

we love

in return.

We love

our haters

for the

glory of

God.

The

hated,

the

haters,

and now

the helper.

In

verses 26

and 27,

Jesus circles

back to the

Holy Spirit.

Now, you may

be sitting in

your pew

thinking,

wait, hold

on a second.

You want me

to love

those who

hate me?

How can I

do that?

I'm living

with them.

How does

that work?

You can't

do that.

The Holy

Spirit can.

love you.

You need

an empowerment

by the Holy

Spirit

to enable

you

to love

like Jesus.

If you're

feeling the

heat of

hate,

help has

already

arrived,

Christian.

The Holy

Spirit who

has indwelt

you,

is eager

to fill you

afresh so

that you

can respond

to your

haters in a

way that

pleases God.

A couple

weeks ago,

I gave you

a crash

course in

the Holy

Spirit.

The Holy

Spirit is

not an it,

but a who,

a person.

He's a he.

He's present.

when Jesus

is talking

about here

of him,

he and the

Father sending

the Holy

Spirit to

us.

He's coming

to indwell

each of

us.

He's

powerful.

He bears

the fruit

that is

like Jesus.

Love,

joy,

peace,

and he

brings peace.

So when you

encounter the

heat of

hate from

the world,

whether that's

explosive,

whether that is

smoldering,

if that's

seductive,

the Spirit

is your

ever-present

help in

time of

trouble.

Psalm 46.1,

God is our

ever-present

help.

The Holy

Spirit is

like the

ultimate

ever-present

help.

He's on

board,

wanting to

help you

resist

Christ.

Here's how

the Holy

Spirit helps.

One,

he helps

us bear

Christ-like

fruit in

the heat

of hate.

It's

extraordinary.

When you

are relying,

abiding in

Christ and

being enabled

by the Holy

Spirit and

things get

hot,

you're like,

I love

you back.

How can I

pray for

you?

You're

walking by

the Spirit.

If you're

taking notes,

would you

write down

Psalm 1?

Would you

write down

Jeremiah 17,

5-8?

When we

are abiding

in God,

these passages

talk about

heat coming

upon us,

and we

bear fruit

in the

heat.

Under the

heat of

hate,

we can

actually

experience

joy.

Maybe you

remember

Paul and

Silas

singing

in the

Philippian

jail cell

with their

ankles in

stocks.

Midnight,

they're

singing,

Lord,

you're

awesome.

We are

so happy.

Joy.

Acts 5,

the leaders

of the

Jerusalem

church

have just

suffered for

Jesus,

and they

come back

to the

church

rejoicing

for

suffering

for

Jesus.

Okay,

I've been

waiting on

this.

I've been

waiting to

bring you

here.

Remember the

Sermon on the

Mount?

It starts

with Beatitudes.

Matthew 5,

10,

11,

and 12.

blessed

are those

who are

persecuted

for

righteousness

sake,

for theirs

is the

kingdom of

heaven.

Blessed

are you

when others

revile you

and persecute

you and

utter all

kinds of

evil against

you falsely

on my

account,

for my

name's sake.

Rejoice and

be glad,

for your

reward is

great in

heaven,

for so

they persecuted

the prophets

who were

before you.

we,

when we

catch heat

for Jesus,

we're like,

praise God,

thank you

Jesus.

Qualification.

If,

if your

non-Christian

supervisor

is getting

mad at you

because you're

chronically

late,

or you

are,

you are

being mean,

don't,

don't think

that you're

being persecuted

for Jesus.

you're

not.

But when

we can

drive direct

lines to

people's

hatred for

us,

because of

Jesus,

we get to

rejoice.

The Holy

Spirit gives

us joy,

he helps us

to love,

he brings

about peace,

we can be

settled in

God,

knowing that

we are

walking

faithfully

with him,

even though

we are

experiencing

the heat

of hate.

The second

area the

Spirit helps

us is to

bear bold

witness to

Christ.

In the

heat.

The Holy

Spirit seeks

to bear

witness to

Jesus.

Has anybody

had to bear

witness in a

court of law?

You get up on

the stand,

and a bailiff

comes.

Do you swear

to tell the

truth, the

whole truth,

and nothing

but the

truth, so

help you

God?

And you're

like, yes.

The Spirit

of God is

going to bear

the truth,

the whole

truth, and

nothing but

the truth

about Jesus

Christ.

The truth,

the whole

truth, and

nothing but

the truth.

He's going

to bear

witness to

your spirit

of the

truth, of

who Jesus

is, the

truth, the

whole truth,

and nothing

but the

truth.

truth, and

then you

will bear

witness to

Jesus, too.

The truth, the

whole truth,

nothing but

the truth, who

he is, of

what he's

done.

Even in the

midst of heat,

it might get

hotter because

you're bearing

bold witness to

Jesus, but your

date gives power.

The thing that he

wants you to do

because the Holy

Spirit, Acts 1, 8,

gives power for us

to be witnesses

to him wherever

we are.

We're to bear

bold witness for

Jesus.

What Jesus seems

to be saying

here is that

the Holy Spirit,

the helper, the

spirit of truth,

will empower us

not just to bear

Christ-like fruit

when heating, but

to bear Christ-

glorifying witness

in the heat.

There's nothing

here that says

about reducing

the heat.

This past

Thursday,

Jenny and I

are in a life

group, and we

are in our life

group together,

and a dear

sister was

wondering out

loud whether

she is being

faithful to

Jesus, whether

she's abiding in

Christ because

she wasn't

experiencing kind

of like the

heat of

persecution.

And Jenny and

me, we know

this sister, and

she's like totally

legit.

You know what I

said to her?

You know what

your pastor said

to her?

You're being

persecuted just

not to your

face.

People are

talking about

you behind

your back.

There's no

way that you

can be living

the way you

are without

ruffling

feathers.

They're just

not saying it

to your face.

And then she

shared a little

bit more.

I'm like, oh,

there it is.

You are getting

persecuted.

And you know

what she said at

the end of it

all?

I just want to

be bold for

Christ.

Me too.

Brothers and

sisters, we

have a helper.

The third

person of the

Trinity, the

Holy Spirit, the

greatest ever

present help in

time of trouble.

And he has been

sent by both God

the Father and

God the Son,

Trinity

citing, he's

been sent, that

we would bear

fruit and bear

witness.

So when you

experience the

heat, don't

fight back.

Don't flee for

the exit door.

Don't frolic

with the world.

Be faithful.

Be faithful.

Bear fruit, bear

witness with the

Spirit's help.

It matters what

you say and how

you say it.

He's the

helper.

Hated,

haters,

the helper.

Here's the

point.

If you are

abiding in

Christ, you

will be both

hated and

helped.

If you're

abiding in

Christ,

Christian, you

will both be

hated and

helped.

That applies to

middle school

students and

high school

students, young

adults, whether

you're in the

workplace or

college Carthage

shout out,

clock it.

It'll be both.

So here's some

questions.

Are you willing to

be hated for

Jesus?

Are you willing?

Remember the

Surgeon General

Warning?

How about the

Savior General

Warning?

If you're not a

Christian in the

room, you need to

realize that becoming

a follower of

Jesus isn't going

to be a walk in

the part.

I don't know who

you've heard about

Jesus from, but if

they're saying to

you, come to

Jesus and your

life will be

great, that's not

true.

You'll be hated.

Oh, but Jesus is

worth it.

Now, if you're a

Christian in the

room, let me, let

me just, let me, I

need to choose my

words carefully.

Nobody told me

about this.

What do you mean

I'm going to be

hated?

I thought I just

need to be nice.

Does it change

anything?

Does it change

anything about the

Jesus you claim to

know that you'll be

hated for him?

Because if you're

saying, I don't know

about that, let's

save ourselves a

whole bunch of

heartache and you

just need to stop

professing to be a

Christian.

Because Jesus is

very clear, if you

are not willing to

suffer for him,

if you're ashamed

of him, he's

going to be ashamed

of you.

But here's what

this does.

If you have an

unwillingness to be

hated for Jesus, do

you know what it's

actually exposing?

Your true love.

Do you love what

people think about

you more than

Jesus?

Maybe you're in

your pew right now

and you're like,

man, that would be

hard.

If I got heat, man,

I want to.

I would want to be

hated for Jesus.

I would want to

want to be hated

for Jesus.

I kind of want to

lean towards being

hated for Jesus, but

I'm a little scared.

I'm kind of willing.

Do you know how to be

willing to be hated

for Jesus?

You treasure Jesus

above all else.

You make Jesus your

first love, your

greatest treasure, and

out of the overflow of

your heart, you will

speak, and you will

suffer for it, and you'll

be like, wait, hold on a

second.

Greater, less than, or

equal to.

Is Jesus greater than,

less than, or equal to

what the world thinks

about me?

Greater.

By far.

The world offers no

life.

The world cannot forgive

you of your sin.

The world cannot promise

you eternal life in

glory with God.

You can't do it.

Treasuring Jesus is

prioritizing Jesus.

It's abiding in Jesus.

And so, even in the

heat, Jesus is to a

Christian what oxygen is

to a firefighter in a

burning building.

He's your life.

breath.

And that breathing, the

actual O2, is Holy

Spirit breath.

Earring into you,

strengthening you.

Are you willing to

suffer for Jesus?

You can.

By abiding in Jesus.

Another application is

love your haters.

Another application is

be brave.

How do you deal with

being hated for Jesus?