This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to our look together through John chapter 15 in Daily Drive Time
Devotion. This is day four of our look through this chapter. First three days
we've looked at what it means to abide in Christ, to trust Christ with your life
and the result that comes out of that, that we love one another, but Jesus, as
we look at verses 18 to 27, the end of the chapter, Jesus suddenly tells us
another honest result.

There is this abrupt U-turn between verses 17 and 18. In verse 17, Jesus says he
wants us to love each other, but then in verse 18 he says, "If the world hates
you, keep in mind that it hated me first. " Wow, what a U-turn.

Verses 18 and 19, Jesus says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it
hated me first. If you belong to the world, it would love its own. As it is, you
do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

That's why the world hates you. " Jesus moves from love one another to they will
hate you, and Jesus is an expert at both. He's an expert at loving one another
and teaching us what that means and how to do that, and he's an expert at
handling hate from others and what that means and how to handle that.

Here he says, "If the world hates you. " It's important to understand what is
meant by the world here. This term the world is used in three ways in the Bible.

It's used to refer to the created world, the world that we see. It's used to
refer to all the people in the world, but it's also used a third way, and that's
the way Jesus is using it here. It's used to talk about the world.

You might call it the world system without God. Sometimes we talk about a
worldly way of thinking. That's what this means.

Human society organizing itself without God is what one person has called this.
When you hear like in Romans 12, 2, "Don't conform any longer to the pattern of
this world," it's talking about this human society organizing itself without
God. When in 1 John 2, 15, "Don't love the world or anything in the world," he's
not talking about the things that God has created.

He's talking about this system without God. Jesus says, "If you abide in me, one
of the things that's going to happen is there's going to be some in this world
system who are going to hate you. " One of the most shocking things to a new
believer is sometimes the hostility that they encounter from people who used to
be their friends.

People who would have rejoiced if they'd gotten a new job or they'd gotten a new
house, but when they get a new life in Christ, instead of rejoicing that you're
a new creation, they reject. What does that rejection look like? Well, in some
countries, it's the loss of position.

It's the loss of honor. In some countries, it's the loss of life because of
persecution. In the United States, that rejection can look like disapproval or
being on the outside or loss of opportunity or just loss of a friendship.

Jesus, as he talks in the last part of John chapter 15, talks about rejection
and tells us very clearly some things to do when we feel, when we sense
rejection for our faith. There are eight things at the end of this chapter that
Jesus talks about in these verses. We're going to look at them, four today and
four tomorrow.

What do I do when I feel, when I sense that I'm being rejected for my faith?
From a family member, from a friend, from somebody in my business, from somebody
I just meet out on the street, somebody I've just met at a party, what do I do
when I feel like I'm being rejected because I'm a person who has faith in Jesus?
Well, number one of these eight things is don't take it personally.

Don't take it personally. You focus on yourself and you're just going to build
bitterness or fear or anger or depression or pride. Focus on Jesus because the
truth is they're not rejecting you.

They're rejecting Jesus Christ and what he wants to do in all of our lives. If
you focus on Jesus when you face rejection, instead of building bitterness or
pride, you will build faith. Listen to what the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 4
verses 3 to 5.

In the past, you wasted too much time doing what non-believers enjoy. You were
guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and
hateful idol worship. Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the
many wild and wasteful things that they do and so they insult you.

But they will have to explain this to God who is ready to judge the living and
the dead. That verse reminds us it's not you they're rejecting, it's Jesus and
what Jesus wants to do in all of our lives, the change that he wants to bring
in. They're afraid of that change because it seems I'm going to have to give up
what I have that I think brings me joy, like drunkenness brings you joy.

But that's what we get fooled into thinking. And so we reject those who are
people of faith because it seems they're going to take something away from us.
But what we're rejecting really is Jesus.

So what do you do when you face rejection? You don't take it personally. Number
two, you don't try to fit in because you're a believer in Christ.

You can't fit in. You're holy, you're light, you're being transformed. You can't
fit in because of what Jesus Christ has done in your life.

Why does the world, this world system, hate believers? Because the world
suspects people who are different and we are holy. From a very young age we put
down people who are different, even in the playground.

So everybody suspects people who are different. What's going on here? And so
there's rejection.

Why does the world reject believers? Because the world deeply dislikes people
whose lives are a condemnation of what I'm doing and we are light. If you're
living in darkness and light walks into the room, you can try to hide it but
you're light.

And you're going to be a shining example of the fact that my life could change
if I'm an unbeliever. That I don't have to live like this anymore. The truth is
the world always suspects nonconformity.

The world system always wants everybody to conform. Now they feel like they're
not conforming but everybody's getting drunk at the same party on the same night
feeling like they're feeling like they're nonconformists. The truth is in Christ
we are being transformed by Jesus Christ.

Something new is happening in our lives and it's obvious that we're not
conforming. It's hard to hide the taste of salt with the presence of light. In
the days the New Testament was written, the Romans hated the believers, the
Roman government because they didn't fit in.

They had Caesar worship in that government. It was a popular movement that was
adopted by the government that once a year it would take a pinch of incense and
proclaim that Caesar is Lord and then you'd get a certificate because of that.
The government was very lenient.

You only had to do this once a year. You could worship any god you wanted the
rest of the year. Just do it once a year.

Such a little thing but believers wouldn't do it because Jesus is Lord. And so
because they didn't fit in, the Christians in the early church faced
persecution. Don't try to fit in.

Don't give up that which is most important. So what do you do when you face
rejection? Well you don't take it personally and you don't try to fit in.

And then in verse 20, Jesus reminds us of a few other things to do. In verse 20,
Jesus says, "Remember the words I spoke to you. No servant is greater than his
master.

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching,
they will obey yours also. " What do you do when you face rejection?

Well number three, you don't try to avoid rejection. Jesus says, "If they
persecuted me, they're going to persecute you also. " Now you don't invite
rejection into your life.

Some people, they tend to live their Christian lives as if they were inviting
people to reject them, as if they wanted to be persecuted. And they're really
being persecuted for being rude rather than for being Christians. I'm not saying
to do that.

But there are those who will reject you, who will persecute you, simply because
you're trying to live a life of faith. Simply because you love others. Simply
because you won't join in the things that they're doing.

Don't try to avoid rejection, because Jesus says it's going to happen.
Persecution, even martyrdom, are not invited, but Jesus says they are going to
happen in this world. Now as a believer in the United States, you may never have
to face martyrdom, but there are brothers and sisters in Christ all over the
world who are facing prison and even death for their faith.

And if they were to try to avoid rejection, they would have to give up their
trust in Christ on a daily basis. They'd have to give up their witness for
Christ and the change that he's working in other people's lives. So don't try to
avoid rejection, because you can't.

Jesus couldn't, so you can't. Number four of these first four things to do when
you face rejection is you remember that rejection is not universal. It's not
like everyone is rejecting you because you have faith.

Jesus says if they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you also. But if
they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too. Now again, the point is
Jesus.

It's not me they're persecuting, they're really persecuting Jesus in me. And
it's not me they're following. If somebody says I want to become a believer like
you, they're following Jesus in me.

You see the flip side of persecution is lives change for Jesus Christ. Christ in
you is a magnet attracting other people. We live in a country where acceptance
of Christianity is the rule rather than the exception.

But that is not the experience of most believers. Most believers in history and
even most believers in the world today. The truth is the last century produced
more martyrs than the first century.

The truth is following Christ is considered treason in many countries. For
instance, North Korea where the government mandates worship is reserved for the
deceased dictator and for his son and the rest of spies and traitors, those who
are simply believers. The truth is that today even telling the stories of
persecuted Christians in the day of the internet, those stories are picked up by
persecuting countries and that ends up causing those believers to suffer even
more.

Now personal letters to those who are being persecuted do make a difference. And
if you want to do something for persecuted Christians around the world, I'd
encourage you to go to OpenDoorsUSA. org where you can learn some things to do
for brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted around the world.

Pray for them, learn from them, give to them, write letters to them, speak out
for them. The truth of the matter is when we talk about facing rejection for our
faith, tomorrow I want to pray together about what you might be facing, but I
can't help but begin by praying for what other people in the world are facing.
Let's pray together and ask Jesus, just in your heart right now, say Jesus, you
know, you know who's facing persecution for their faith today in ways that I
will never face.

You know who's in prison right now. Give them comfort, the comfort of your
presence. You know who's facing death right now.

Give them strength, Jesus, the strength of their faith, the strength to know
that someone might be able to take our physical life, but they can never take
that which is most important in our eternal life. Jesus you know who is facing
loss, separation from their family or from their work, or is facing the daily
drudgery of not being able to get ahead in life and live the life that they'd
like to live because they have faith and they've expressed that faith in you.
You know these people and I pray right now that you would encourage them and I
pray that you remind me when things aren't going so well in my life to remember
these brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are facing daily
persecution for their faith and to pray for them.

I don't want to live a selfish faith, a self-centered faith and so I pray for
them right now. I pray it in Jesus' name, Amen. Well join us tomorrow.

We're going to finish this look at what to do when you face rejection for your
faith.