Christians and the World

The Bible was written for God’s people about the world and its state. It shows us our never-ending need for God. As sin entered the world, it began its decline into eternal damnation. But God had a plan—a plan to reclaim His creation. And while we are in the world, He tells us we are not of the world. There is a difference between our needs and desires and those of the world. I have read the Old Testament and the New Testament and have had marvelous lessons in learning about His Creation, His love for us, and His plan to bring us back home, where we belong. Our home is Heaven. The best book to fully understand Jesus for who He is and what He represents is the Book of John. It is my favorite book. We see Jesus as the man who came to dwell among us, showing us how to have faith in God. And, we see Jesus as God. This Book points to His deity.

I will skip ahead to Chapter 15 for this study. In verse 17: “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” I want to highlight something particularly noteworthy and significant about the following few verses. Jesus is speaking with His Apostles at that time. They are tucked away with Him on the night of His arrest, and He pours His last final words and heart out to them. He is telling them that “I have left you a NEW command.” Notice that he did not say the Ten Commandments are gone. They remain. He is only adding a new one. He wants them to love one another (brothers and sisters of God) so that the world will know that we are His.

In verses 18 and 19, He tells them that if the world hated Him, then they will also hate us. We are to remember that the world hated Him first. If we were of the world, they would accept us and love us. They would love us because they love their kind of love for their own. But we are “a peculiar people”, as He tells us. Since we belong to Him, they will hate us for no reason. They “Hated Him for no reason.”

Our Hearts Yearn for What is Righteous and Holy

The world cannot understand us. We long for what is good and faithful, righteous and holy. The world longs for what makes them feel good and self-success. Our ideas do not align with those of other people, and they surely find us quite boring or too straight-laced. But, we must remember that without Christ in their lives, they would not understand what drives us, what excites us, and whom we worship. How would they know? We may find ourselves pulling away from certain people because of those ideas and desires. At times, what do we have to talk about with those who do not understand Christ? It does not leave much. We can spend time with them, but the conversations usually always follow their desires and what they want to talk about. How long do they listen to us when all we want to talk about is Jesus Christ and what our lives are like, living for Him? I think many of us have faced conversations like that. We go unheard and are not taken seriously. The conversations do not last long.

Jesus explains in verse 20 that we are not greater than Him, and if they persecuted Him, they will persecute us as well. He is trying to prepare them before He is arrested and crucified. He also tells them that if certain people keep His Word, they will also keep our words when we speak of Him. So, every time we have the opportunity to witness, there is always hope that someone has heard the message. I have tried to picture them all sitting around Jesus as He spoke during this intimate time. What was running through their heads? They were not so clear at that time that Jesus was going to be killed, even though He had told them plenty of times. They were still looking for Him to be a ruler, a King, and to end all the hardships and control they were under. But Jesus knew it was time to leave them with His final words.

In verse 21, “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me.” (v22): “If I had not come to them and spoke to them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for sin.” Here, he explains that the others do not know God. Even though they claimed they did, they did not. Since He came as the Son of Man and did the miracles and spoke as He did, they should have recognized Him as the Son of God. Now, they had no excuse, and they also had no cover for their sins.

They hated Jesus, and they hated His Father. He tells them this because if they loved God, they would have loved Jesus, His Son. Now, since He came, they had seen and they hated both Him and His Father. Before Jesus began speaking in this manner about hatred, His conversation with them was all about them as God’s children. It was all about love. Now, the mood changed. He had assured them of the promises of the Holy Spirit and much comfort. Those exact words that He spoke and warned them about are words for us to hear as well. He is speaking here at that moment to all who shall love Christ. We must face the fact and accept that we, too, will suffer and be hated by the world. We are not “greater than He.”

We know that people throughout history have suffered, even death, for the name of Christ. Should that change with us? Do we deserve anything different? Do we also want to stand for Christ and with Christ? History is filled with people who lost their lives for the sake of Christ. “Pick up your cross and follow Me.” Our cross to carry is no different. We will see the times turn very soon (I think), and we will understand this even more.

Then, Jesus knew that after He would be killed, persecution would follow, and He warned them ahead of time, so that when it did happen, they would remember His very words. He left them with assurance that He will be with them, as He will also be with us through our dark hours. He told them that the Holy Spirit would come and help us through all things. Everything the Holy Spirit knows, He will teach them and us. The darkness shall fall upon us just as it has for millions before us. Hunted, attacked, persecuted, mocked, and maybe even killed will happen. But, what do we do?

We will stand on our faith. The same faith that He had in His Father, that faith we will have. It is an empowering faith that will cause us to stand when we need to stand and to bow when we need to bow. Our hope is in Christ Jesus.

We see the world changing all around us. Never before have we seen and heard such blasphemy against Christ. Never before have we seen such hatefulness for Him and for us who love Him. Their bold times have arrived and have been here for some time. They show us their intentions. The discernment is that the Holy Spirit is the one who shows us these things. If they ever wanted to rid the earth of a “cancer” so bad, it is now. We are the cancer. They are in one accord, and we can now see them circling the tower of Babel, with one mindset and one purpose.

At the Cross

Remember how the fever spread like wildfire when they persecuted and killed Jesus? The hatred spewed from their mouths, one after another. They all stood by and screamed out to kill Him. Shall this not happen again? Did it not occur throughout history? We must be set in our faith and belief. It is better to what? “To fear the One who can destroy both body and soul, rather than those who can kill our body.” He didn’t say this for nothing. Our bodies could be killed, but they can never take our Spirit and soul. It belongs to God.

Movements

There have been many movements throughout the years that are not even about what they claim to be. I began to notice after 9/11 how the world had changed. Secret groups that claimed to be standing for a specific cause, when in reality, they have been about eliminating us. If you cannot fathom this, you are not reading deep enough in God’s Word. Discernment works every time. It is a gift. A gift of protection and warnings as to what to watch out for and to understand. That is why, in the end times, only a remnant will be saved.

People Today Have Lost Their Minds

We cannot deny it. Just look at the news and the podcasts about the news. Please take a look at our leadership and where it is headed. Look closer at the eyes and facial expressions that cannot be hidden. It is all there for us to see. The most heinous crimes we could never have imagined before. The stealing of the children has exploded. Satan is on a rampage. He knows his time is short, and he is raging like a lion to prey. The world has become so vulgar and foul that you have to turn away time and time again. It is better to stay home than to venture out most of the time. Everything foul is in our faces at every turn. People cannot live without their phones, and we often hear about the consequences when a parent tries to ground their child from using them. High-tech has destroyed people. No one can even have conversations anymore, and don’t even know how to pick up that phone and call someone. Much easier to text instead. That way, they can hide behind the text. It’s all ridiculous, but that’s life now. And the future? Is there one? In all reality, there is not one. Not for us or the young. Between the technology, AI, and robots, what chance do we have? Then Covid came along and all the isolation. People were isolated for so long that they don’t know how to have relationships—a crazy mess.

This is a Spiritual Battle

If we fail to recognize it as that, we fail. We will fall for every lie and deception that comes our way. They are readying us for it all. Everyone who does not have Christ in them will be deceived. This war is a demonic war against God. The ones that Satan owns will continue down that path of control and influence. That is, unless they seek out God and are saved. God’s children will continue to grow their faith, stand firm, and look for Jesus to return. The evil will remain evil, and the holy remain holy, the unjust will remain unjust, and the righteous will remain righteous at one point in time. The door will close just like the door on Noah’s ark. Every soul will decide whom they worship, God or man. No matter how dark this world will become, we will walk in the Light. Always remember that Christ is ever so close to us; always. It is “Christ in us” and will remain that for us through it all.

When the time falls on us, God will put His words in our mouths just as He did so many other faithful followers. We are living in the times of the false “promised peace,” and we know what comes after that peace. This is the peace that the world gives, not the peace that Jesus provides. We see many who are following that lie of peace right now. We know the world is in chaos, and it will only get worse. Jesus came to divide. It is dividing right now. They pretend to love and act like they believe that unity will provide. Jesus divides. When He said that “Many shall come and say I am the Christ.” Many people think this is talking about the whackos out there that will claim to be the Christ. It means so much more than that. He is speaking about the wolves in sheep’s clothing; those who WILL say that He is Christ. This is the point He was making.

His first warning: “Do not let any man deceive you.”