Following Jesus #9 - In the Way of Perseverance

Message Description

Josiah Leuenberger shares Christ's message from the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John of encouragement to persevere through trials Christians encounter.

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Message Transcript

Well, good morning. It is great to be together. My name is Josiah, and I have to tell you I was nervous about not making it up here on time. You see, this week was Halloween, and this year I decided to dress up as an aging former athlete. One of the costs of my costume is it just takes me a while to get around, guys, so it is good to be together. I get to share some exciting news with you. Just a moment ago we saw this video of Jackie Bursik. Jackie has been here trusting God, praising God in the midst of what she's been through over the past few months. I saw Jackie in the lobby this morning, and she shared with me this news and gave me permission to share with you. This week, she received the news that she is cancer-free. Jackie, we are thanking God with you. Praise him.

Well, I want to share with you one more thing. You've heard announcements over these past few weeks about the Vision 2020 event coming up here at Orchard Hill in a little less than two weeks. Last year, I was new here at Orchard Hill, and I found this event to be really helpful, just hearing from Kurt about who we are as a church, what makes us unique at Orchard Hill, and also hearing a little bit about where we are headed in the year to come. These events are coming up. I believe the dates are November 14th, 15th, and 16th, so that is less than two weeks out. We always get to a time where we say, "Hey now is the time where we actually register," myself included. If you're with me, that would be awesome. I told Kurt this week I feel like I'm throwing a dinner party for my 200 closest friends, and I should probably find out how much food we need to make. Go ahead. Register for those events. Look forward to it.

Well, if you are new here, we have been in a series these past few weeks called Following Jesus, and we've been in the gospel of John. This series has been so helpful. We've heard Jesus' essential message that any one of us who will come and trust Jesus in faith, recognizing our spiritual need, will be able to be restored to God in right relationship with him. That's why Jesus came, to lay down his life on the cross, to teach us how to be right with God, but not only to teach us, to make a way for us to be restored to him. We also see in John's gospel that Jesus came not just to remedy our sin but also our loneliness. It's a beautiful reality we see in scripture, that Jesus invites us into a new kind of community, anyone who believes, a community that shows us what God intended for human relationships to be like when he made this world and also a community that foreshadows what the world will be like when Jesus comes again to renew all things.

We're a people who love and forgive one another because God loves and forgives us. Right from the get-go, let me make it clear that here in the church we are not a people who view ourselves as the morally elite gathered together. We are a people who recognize that it's only by God's grace in our lives. We are broken people apart from Jesus, but we come here together as a people of confidence and a people of hope because of what God has done and what he can do in us and through us. If you're here this morning and you are thinking to yourself, "Man, I have got no business being here with where I've been, what I've done. Who am I kidding?" you know what, Jesus said these words, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick." If you're here and you hear those words of Jesus and you put your hand up, you're exactly where God wants you to be. You're the kind of person that Jesus loves to call friend.

Why don't I pray for us now as we dig into the word that God would speak to all of us here this morning? Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this opportunity to be together wherever we are in our exploration of faith, our journey with you. I pray that you would meet us this morning by your Holy Spirit. Would you teach us? Would you shape us? God, would you fill us with hope? In Jesus' name, amen. Well, last week we heard a really powerful message from Kurt, our senior pastor, on what it means for us as followers of Jesus Christ. If you're someone who recognizes your need and you've looked to Jesus and faith, we have heard a message about what it means for us to live life on mission, because the reality in what Jesus teaches us here in chapter 15 of John's gospel is that when God does a work in our lives and leads us to an understanding of his grace that he gives to us freely, that not only changes everything for us as individuals, we receive every spiritual blessing.

It does change everything for us as individuals, but it doesn't end there. We are also invited into a new purpose. We have been called to participate with Jesus in his mission to the world, to show the world, the people around us, the redeeming grace, the transforming truth of Jesus Christ, that hope within us in all that we do, in the words that we speak, and also in our actions. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter two, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do." That's the message we heard last week. We heard it here in our worship services and also on our men's overnight. You know, I had the opportunity to go on that men's overnight where we really looked at this topic in depth, and there's one rule to the men's overnight. Don't talk about the men's overnight.

That's the one rule, but I can tell you this. At the end of our weekend, that men's overnight every year, we always have a time of sharing where we communicate stories about what the time together has meant to us, how we've seen God work in our lives through the conversations that we've had, maybe words that we've heard a speaker share. This year, during that time of sharing, I can't tell you how many guys came up to the microphone and they said, "I have to say I feel really energized and just excited," and talking about what it means for us to live out our lives as representatives of Jesus Christ, representatives of the living God in the places that we work in our communities, in our homes. This is something that can fill us with energy, each and every follower of Jesus Christ, his ambassador. It brings purpose to every area of our lives because every moment, every opportunity is a chance to make Jesus known.

You know, one of the leaders I very much look up to, his name is Tom Allen. He' is the head football coach at Indiana University. I don't know if you ever grow out of an age where you have role models, but I can tell you in my mid-30s Tom Allen is one of my role models. I had the opportunity to meet Coach Allen on a few occasions and get to know him a little bit when my wife and I lived in Indiana for six years. I'll tell you, when I heard him speak, you guys see me. I'm not much for football, but I always thought to myself, "Man, somebody get me a helmet. I'd follow that guy anywhere." You know, if you want to understand coach Allen's leadership, here's something you need to know. When he took over as head coach at Indiana University, one of his first orders of business was to put up his new rule for team conduct on a placard above the door, exiting from the locker room onto the playing field.

I have a picture of Coach Allen taking the field with his team, and that rule is printed on the post one of his players is holding. It says L-E-O. It's an acronym. Love each other. L-E-O. "A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another," that was Jesus' rule for conduct with his own team. It won't surprise you to hear Coach Allen is a strong follower of Jesus Christ, and when he was young in his career, he was trying to discern, "Is God calling me to ministry or is he calling me to be a football coach?" As he sorted through that question, he came to realize, "God is calling me to ministry as a football coach." I've heard Coach Allen describe his job in Big 10 Football this way on several occasions, "I'm a missionary of Jesus Christ disguised as a football coach all the way at the top level of college football."

Friends, when you know Jesus, you can go out each day with that same sense of purpose, that you are a representative of the living God. Every place, every interaction, every day we get to show up with Jesus' words behind us, "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." That's where we landed last week. In the message, the words we just heard from Jesus continuing in John chapter 15 just a few moments ago, we see him set an important expectation for his followers and following up that teaching on mission. Jesus builds on that word by setting an important expectation. He tells them, "Life with me will be fulfilling. You'll receive a purpose that will energize you, fill you with purpose for all of life, but know this. It's not going to be easy." He tells them, "You're going to face mistreatment and opposition. Not everyone you cross paths with is going to high five you and spur you along with a word of encouragement."

We are in John chapter 15 verses 18 through 27, and there are three things Jesus shares with his disciples in this passage where I'd like us to give our attention. The first is the difficult reality he tells them to expect. The second is a word of affirmation for when they experience persecution. The third is a word of encouragement for persevering in the midst of those difficult times. Let's dig into it. We are in John chapter 15 starting in verses 15 through 18. Here, Jesus shapes his disciples' expectations with a difficult word. This is not a series of verses I have seen printed on a picture frame at Hobby Lobby, "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, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

When you and I are going through difficult times, doesn't having an accurate set of expectations make those situations a little more manageable? Have you had that experience yourself? Do you know what I'm talking about? I can tell you, when I've gone through difficult times having an accurate set of expectations makes those moments so much more manageable. I want to share with you a story. I saw that dynamic play out in a relationship with a good friend of mine a few years ago. I want to show you his picture. This is my dog Crockett. My wife and I met Crockett in an animal shelter a few years ago. We decided to invite him over to play. He learned how to sit. The rest is history. As you can see. Crockett's a good boy, but he has not always been that way.

As a matter of fact, when we first got Crockett, I wanted to change his name to Destroyer because Crockett was relentless and biting our shirtsleeves, our pant legs. He was absolutely relentless. He would get a new toy, and his first goal was to completely dismember it. That's him as a puppy with his favorite toy, a duck. It did not last long. When Crockett was a puppy, I'm embarrassed to say I wanted to take him back to the shelter. My wife's maternal instinct kicked in. It was not to happen. One of the first times we let Crockett out of his crate unattended, he found a little corner where our carpet was just sticking up, and he grabbed onto that flap. By the time we got home, the entire living room floor needed to be replaced, but, you know, a moment when we seemed to find a turning point with Crockett was when we had a friend visiting.

We were talking with her, and Crockett somehow found her wallet. He got a hold of it, and he shredded it as he would do. We were just absolutely exasperated, but our friend, she just laughed it off. You see, she had two grown dogs herself, and she told us, "Don't worry about it. Don't worry about him. One of my dogs was just as bad when he was a puppy, but when he hit 18 months, he really chilled out," and I'll tell you, my wife and I, to this day, six years later, we both remember that conversation because it gave us an expectation of a time frame that we had to make it through. He wasn't six months old yet, but we thought, "18 months, we can grit that out," and we're glad we did. Having an accurate set of expectations can make things all so much more manageable for us when we're going through a difficult time.

That's what we see Jesus here in this passage. I think he understood that dynamic about how we are wired as human beings, and so he lets his disciples know, "The blessings that you have received through following me, no one can take them away. You're invited into a purpose that's powerful to propel you out with a mission full of purpose for every moment, every area of your life, but, fellas, be ready. This will not be easy. You are going to be opposed. You will be mistreated as a result of following me, as a result of your faithfulness." That's the difficult reality in this passage. Followers of Jesus should expect opposition. Jesus is preparing them because he cares for them. Set your expectation. You will face opposition. The truth is every follower of Jesus Christ should expect the same. Every follower of Jesus should expect opposition. That's a real selling point for following Jesus. Right?

I have to say, as a minister, something that is critically important to me is representing Christ and his teachings accurately, protecting the integrity of his message. Jesus, here, he tells us very clearly in following him, difficulty comes with the territory. When I hear false teachers share a message that Jesus came and died on the cross so that all of our dreams could come true and life will be easy, I get really fired up. Jesus didn't speak these words, "God so loved the world that he sent his only Son so that whoever would believe in him would have their dream job, would meet the girl of their dreams, would get a better car." Jesus came to meet our ultimate need, our spiritual need, and he came to re-frame our perspective entirely on what is truly important in life. He came to invite us into a life of lasting significance, but let's not misrepresent him. Life with Jesus is going to be hard.

Now, God's grace, it does change everything for us. It fills us with a hope that lasts for eternity. He meets us with peace in the midst of our present circumstances that passes our own understanding, but he tells us very clearly in this passage, "Expect opposition. In this world," Jesus says, "you will have trouble. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. For I have overcome the world." In our faith, in our mission, we're never without hope, but it's not going to be easy. Jesus tells us more about why that is. Continuing on in verse 20, "Remember what I told you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me." What Jesus is telling us here is that if we follow him, in the eyes of many in this world, we are guilty by association.

"If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." Jesus experienced hostility and mistreatment, opposition for his teaching, for his miracles, simply for being who he was. If we're going to put ourselves with him in faith and in the way that we live our lives, the same is coming our way. "If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you also." I want to ask you: What comes to mind for you when you hear that word, persecution? What comes to mind for you when you hear persecution? You know, when I hear that word of persecution, I often think of stories. I think of statistics in far-off places, followers of Jesus Christ who are abused, imprisoned, even executed as a result of standing with Jesus, simply for gathering, even for owning a Bible in some parts of the world or proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. That's persecution.

Those stories are real, and they're hard to hear. Those stories, they should grieve us, but they shouldn't surprise us because Jesus tells us here plainly that in this world broken by sin, some people are going to hate him. When we stand with him, some people are going to hate us. Like I said, when we talk about persecution, we often think of far-off places and very desperate situations. I really feel for those people. I thank God for the freedoms that we have to worship him here in this country, in our culture, in our context. We can gather together as the people of God. We can own a Bible. We can proclaim the name of Jesus without fear of imprisonment or abuse. I thank God for the freedoms that we have. I sometimes think to myself, "You know what? We've got it pretty easy. We really don't experience persecution at all," but here's what I know is true.

I know that many of us, I know that many people in this room have experienced real persecution, maybe not in such blatant ways, but persecution on account of Jesus nonetheless. Here's what that looks like. When you're a high school student and your peers treat you like there is something wrong with you because you've chosen to remain faithful to God's word and save sex for marriage, when people treat you like you're crazy for that, that's persecution on account of Jesus, for living for God's word. When your family members and friends say to you, "You are just too into this church stuff. I feel like it's changing you," or, "Seriously, how do you think that Jesus is the one way for a person to have a right relationship with God? How could you be so narrow-minded? Resurrection? You're smarter than that," that's persecution.

Maybe you've had coworkers treat you with absolute coldness for refusing to compromise on your integrity for the sake of the bottom line or for choosing to remain faithful to your family when you could easily go on the road and say, "You know what? I'm going to see what I can get away with." When you're persecuted for standing with Jesus, that's what's happening there. You're being persecuted for standing with Jesus, and here's what all of this comes down to. John Stott, author, former pastor, he spoke these words. This is what persecution is all about, "Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value systems." I'll say that again. "Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value systems," and we've seen throughout our time in John's gospel that Jesus' value system is very different from the ways of this world. From the first chapter of John's gospel, we hear Jesus was a man full of grace and truth, sent from the Father, full of grace and truth. Think about what that means for followers of Jesus Christ.

Christians can expect persecution because when we stand with Jesus in affirming the truth of God's word in a world that says everything is relative, live your own truth, some people will hate us. Faithful Christians can expect persecution because when we stand in affirming God's grace, some people will be offended by that. Some people will be offended by that no matter how gracious we are in our interactions with them because in our spiritual pride we want to think of ourselves, we're essentially good. Maybe we get off track from time to time, but surely a little bit of good advice or information, some support and coaching along on how we can better live, that'll do the trick, but Jesus didn't put much hope in our efforts for self-improvement. He taught that the only way to true and lasting life was to recognize our absolute need to come to him with open hands and asked for him to give us grace and new life. That was Jesus' message.

He offers us abundant grace, but we have to ask him for it. Some people will not stand for that. "Persecution is the clash between two irreconcilable value systems," and the way of Jesus is different from the ways of this world. Listen to verses 22 through 25, "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. Whoever hates me, hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father, but this is to fulfill what is written in their law. They hated me without reason." What we see here is that Jesus, he truly came to reveal the word of God to the world. In doing so, he exposed human sin for what it is.

He exposed our willful disobedience to be God, to put ourselves in God's place. He exposed our willful disobedience to God, and that leaves each and every one of us guilty before him, but here's the hope of the gospel. Thank God Jesus Christ came not to condemn us but to seek us out and to save us. I want to say to you, if you're here this morning and you are someone who's exploring faith, you're looking to know what it means to find a life that is truly fulfilling, to find hope that lasts, a peace that transcends anything that you're going through, there is hope for you in Jesus Christ because God loves you so much that he sent Jesus to live in your place a perfect life and to lay himself down, to make a way for you to be restored to the heavenly Father who made you, who loves you, simply by coming to him with your need and trusting him in faith.

God desires a relationship with you. That's why he sent his Son. That hope's available to each and every one of us, but in order to receive his grace, we've got to admit that we need it. What Jesus teaches us in this passage is there will always be people. There'll always be people who want nothing to do with his message. When we stand with him, there are going to be people who want nothing to do with us. In a strange way, Jesus' words in this passage, they do offer us a kind of affirmation because Jesus wants us to know, "When you experience mistreatment and opposition on my account, you may be tempted to think you have gotten life and faith wrong," but he says here, "Persecution isn't a sign that you've gotten something wrong. When you're living for me, when you stand with me, persecution is actually a sign that you've gotten the most important thing." Right?

When you're persecuted on account of faith in Jesus, that doesn't mean you've gotten something wrong. It may just be a sign you've got the most important thing right. By no means am I downplaying the difficulty of persecution, but I do think that each and every follower of Jesus Christ can take this passage as a word of encouragement because when we are opposed, when we are mistreated on account of Jesus, that is affirmation of the authenticity of your faith. "If the world hates you, keep in mind 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, and that's why the world hates you."

Last, Jesus offers his followers a word of encouragement for dealing with persecution, persevering in the midst of challenge and opposition in their faith. Verses 26 and 27, "When the advocate comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you must also testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." You know, throughout this Following Jesus series, we have talked often about the Holy Spirit. For any follower of Christ, he is our advocate, our helper, our counselor, the one who is with us and in us. The Holy Spirit doesn't cheer us on from the sidelines. He's our comforter. He's our helper. He's our counselor personally. We've been talking about how this life of faith and living out our mission, it isn't easy. It's going to require perseverance, and we all do ourselves a favor when we accept that expectation.

I want you to know that, in the midst of that challenge, we can press on and faith and mission with confidence, knowing that God has provided each and every one of us who has put our hope in Jesus with what we need to live that mission out. We can live by faith on mission in the midst of persecution through the Holy Spirit's presence and power at work in our lives. That is the word of encouragement Jesus gives us here. God provides his followers what we require to press on in faith and mission in the midst of persecution by giving us the Holy Spirit. We heard it there in verse 26. The Holy Spirit's role is to testify to Christ. Friends, we can take Jesus at his word. Nothing is going to stop him from communicating the hope that is in the gospel to our world.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you can have confidence because even in your most difficult moments, the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you, is strong. He meets you in your weakness. God is going to carry his mission out, and he's going to do it in you and through you, so press on by faith. We have difficult circumstances before us. We face persecution. We have an enemy in Satan who wants nothing more than to see us fail, but we also have the power and presence of God inside of us through the Holy Spirit to sustain us as we live by faith, as we carry our mission out. As we do that, we can give the world a compelling witness to the power of the gospel. Here's what's true. When we live by faith, when we press on in our mission in the midst of opposition and mistreatment, what more powerful witness can we give to the resurrection work of God in our lives and his power at work within us? What more powerful testimony can we give?

Like I said, we can often think of persecution as being about someone in a far-off place, dealing with opposition and mistreatment that takes place a lot more blatantly with what we face in our own culture, but I want to say I know that there are people in this room who are dealing with persecution in a real way in your life right now. I want you to know that you are not alone as you press on in the midst of it. You have the presence of God living inside of you by faith in Jesus Christ. You press on with the hope that God stands with you, and I want you to know that you have a family in Jesus Christ here at Orchard Hill Church and the body of Jesus Christ globally. We stand with you. We are rooting for you. We support you in prayer, and we are here for you in conversation, any way that we can be as you seek to press on in faith and mission in your own life.

God can meet you in the midst of this. Lean into his grace. Even in your opposition, he can do a work in your life for his glory and your good because Jesus is the one who brings life from death. I want to say, in preparing for this message, I don't often make comments like this, but, in preparing for this message, I felt a particular burden on my heart for high school students. I remember what that season of life was like. I remember the challenges that you face in your interactions with your friends, the people you call your friends. I remember the interactions that you face and people who are your peers, the pressure, discouragement for standing with Jesus and his values. I want you to know that God stands with you. He loves you. Stay faithful to him. You can trust him to provide what you need to carry on with your faith. God stands with you, and so do we. We love you. We got your back. We're supporting you. You can do this.

God can meet you in this moment for his glory and for your good even in the midst of the difficulty. I want to close with this two specific verses that I think really can be an encouragement to us about how God can meet us in the midst of our most difficult moments. The first comes from Philippians chapter three, Paul counseling this church, sharing some of his own story about how God met him in the midst of his own difficult times. He said, "Those moments, they actually increased, they deepened my relationship with God through participation in the sufferings of Jesus. I want to know Christ, the power of his resurrection and the participation in his sufferings." God can meet us in the midst of our most difficult moments and deepen our relationship with him. That is such a rewarding thing. What a beautiful reality. I've experienced that in my own life. I know that can be true for you.

Last, these words from James. He says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work." Patience isn't always my strong suit. It's a hard word. "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything." How about that? God can use our most difficult moments to make us more like Christ. He can use them to mature us. Friends, as you go out in faith and on mission, remember Jesus' words. When you experience persecution on his account, don't take that as a sign that something's wrong.

Maybe it's a sign that you've gotten the most important thing right. You stand with him. He stands with you, so press on. His power and his presence at work inside of you will sustain you. You can keep going. We're with you. We're for you in this. This mission is worth it. Let's lean into God's grace together and show the world. Let's give the world a picture of the power of the gospel to change and transform lives. God, we thank you for the hope that belongs to anyone who looks to you in faith. Father, apart from your grace in our lives, we don't bring anything to the table, but, God, when we trust in you and you put your Holy Spirit inside of us, we receive every spiritual blessing.

God, you give us a hope in the freedom that we have and knowing that we are forgiven, that you will grow us in our faith. You'll transform us to become more like you. You will sustain us through your Holy Spirit from beginning to end. Father, there are things you want to do in us and through us to show the world your resurrection power. Would you give us a confidence in your presence inside of us, knowing that in our weakness, we are strong through you? You will do whatever it takes to make your glory known in the world, God, even in our persecution. You can do that through us. Father, will you give us what we need to lean into your grace and know that you will always provide as we follow after you? We ask this together in Jesus' name, amen. All right, my friends, it has been great to be together. Enjoy your Sunday. Have an awesome week. Go in peace.