HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR THE WORLD OF TROUBLE AS CHRISTIAN?
John 16 :1- 4 "
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| Preparation for the World of trouble |
In Jesus last moment with his disciples, he :-
(A) He warn them about the further persecution that they will face e.g
They will send them out of the synagogue, many preacher had been stopped from preaching certain topic's like divorce ,remarriage and all.
John 15: 18 says " if this world hates you , keep in mind that they Hated me first "
The time is coming when they will kill you, thinking they are do I g service to the lord. E.g the Fulani herd men In Nigeria the unknown gunmen in Nigeria, bolo ha ram etc,these set of people are busy killing people thinking they are doing service to the lord.
Paul who was Saul then, went on hunting Christians with the authority of the high priest. Thinking he was doing service to the lord ( Act 9 :1-2 ).
WHY DID PAUL A JEW WENT AS FAR AS DAMASCUS TO PERSECUTE CHRISTIANS?
There are explanation and possibilities :-
(1) To capture Christians who ran away
(2) To prevent the spread of Christianity to other cities.
(3) To keep the Christians from causing more Trouble in Rome
(4) To build the reputation of Paul as a pharisee.
(5) To unite the faction of Judaism by giving them a common Enemy.
Jesus knew what was ahead, he did not want his disciples faith.(john 16 :1 " All this I have told you,so that you will not fall away" )
(B) He told them ,where ,when and how he was going, he was going to him who sent him.
(C) He assured them that they will not be left alone. He said he is going there for their good. If he did not go the holy spirit, the advocate will not come to them.
God wants you to know that , you are not alone.
You have the holy spirit to comfort you,to teach you truth ,and to help you.
Praise the lord
AIMS OF STUDY
To Prepare Believers Of The Kind Of Hatred, They May Face For The Sake Of The Gospel Or Christ.
To encourage believers not to adopt the pattern of the world.
To boost the confidence of believers, and to eagerly wait for the return of Jesus christ.
INTRODUCTION
Life full with choices everyday e.g what to eat and drink everyday , who to love and how to secure oneself etc.
Every choice we make has its consequences :-
1, Be it Negetive
2, Be it positive
Examples of the consequences of the choices we make :-
When you befriend a popular guy in school, you become popular is accepted by many.
If you ma I rain standard and principle, dressing descent and not mingle anyhow , you become hate and unpopular.
In the work place ,if you live the live of integrity, many promotion will pass you.
If you invest your time and money in the church,you will miss various possessions and memories.
In the spiritual realm,if you follow Jesus wholeheartedly ,you will be hated in the world.
Whether you like it or not the bible is clear that Christians will be hated and rejected by the world.
JOHN 16 :33
" I have told you these things ,so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world"
This is the summary of what Jesus was telling his disciples.
DISCUSSION
(A)WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE WORLD HATE BELIEVERS OF JESUS CHRIST?
1, JOHN 15 :19 -21 ::- Because they do not belong to this world. The world hates them (christian) because their values differ from that of the world
WHAT ARE CHRISTIAN VALUES?
They are the principles that followers of Jesus Christ hold DA ,important, they don't change them overtime, they are consistent from generation to generation., they are founded on the word of God I.e the Bible.
Examples is Love God and others
Be kind and unselfish to others i.e through generous giving.
Christians are hated because they will not cooperate with the world, they will not take part in sin,wickedness or immoral things.
The world follows Satan's agenda and Satan Is the avowed Enemy of Jesus Jesus and his people.
2, John 4 :4 ::- Because we are from God.
Since we are from God and Satan is the avowed enemy of God in this world, we will surely be hated by the world.
The encouragement is:-
1, let's know that we are from God
2, And we have overcome the world because of Jesus.
Its easy to be frightened by high wickedness around us, disturbed by the problems we face, John encourages us that we should know that God is stronger than evil.And he has conquered all evil.,praise God, hallelujah
(B) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF JESUS' STATEMENT THAT " WE ARE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD" ?
1, John 17 :14 -16 ::- We are physically living in the world , we breathe , we eat ,sleep and even travel but our standards , principles and live styles shouldn't be like the worldly people.
There's a timeframe for us here , we are sojourners ,pilgrims, let's live like those that know their destination is heaven not hell.
(C) HOW HAVE YOU BEENPERSECUTED FOR YOUR FAITH?
1, Matthew 10 : 16 - 25 says " we are like sheep among wolves "
We will be handed over to the local council
We will be flogged in the synagogue
You will be taken to the government, governor and kings on the accounts of Christ.etc.
What is the way out here? The bible says
a,Be as screwed as a snake and as harmless as a dove.
b, Do not worry when arrested you will be given what to say.
c, When you stand with God to the end , you will be saved.
d, When persecuted here, flee to the other side.
Persistence is not a means to earn persecution, it is a by- product tof a truly devoted life to Christ (Amen).
2, Luke 6: 4 ::- Jesus was persecuted for our healing
According to the tradition of the religious Leader
No healing could have been done on sabbath
Healing they said ,was practicing medicine I.e your profession on a sabbath. the religious leaders were more concern about protecting their laws rather than freeing person from painful suffering.
The religious leaders were concern about the negative ( what rules not to be broken)
Jesus was concern about the positive ,that is , doing good and helping the those is need.
For further study read : 2 Timothy 3 :13
1 peter 4 : 13 - 19
CONCLUSION
Christians suffering is distinctive I.e it rises from our union and association with Christ.
When we cling to Christ ,we sometimes live in persecution, pain and pressures.
Every believer should prepare for any hated and challenges from the world because of Jesus.
Worldly people are full of troubles and and their targets are the Christians.
Food for thought
You are not better than those that died for the cause of Christ. It maybe your turn to die for the sake of Christi's great gain.
Verse of the week
1 peter 4 :15 , John 16:33
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