John Chapter 15:18-27

The comfort that God gives you, His design is that you turn around and give that to somebody else, that you comfort somebody else. And part of what the Holy Spirit does in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, we're told that you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. You receive power from the Holy Spirit to do what? To be witnesses, to be witnesses. That's plainly what that verse says.

Do you have that power? Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is a senior pastor of the bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. One of David McGee's associate pastors is D.A.

Brown, and we're so happy to have him with us on the show today. Bob, I'm truly excited to be here. I'm excited about this ministry, Cross the Bridge. I'm excited about the teaching of the Word with Pastor David. Evangelism is part of the reason why I started coming and being a part of the ministry. It's an important part of the Christian walk. The good news is that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to be witnesses for Christ. Today, Pastor David explains how we can be empowered by the Spirit as he continues in the Gospel of John, chapter 15.

Sounds good. So let's listen as David McGee continues with part two of his teaching, We Must Choose. Verse 18. It says, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Now, this is interesting. And Jesus is painting a picture, and I understand when he says the world, he doesn't mean necessarily the physical world. He's talking about a world system that denies and ignores the presence of God.

And there is such a system in place. I mean, not to recognize that is the height of ignorance. There is an agenda, you know, to take in God we trust, to offer the money, to take the Ten Commandments, all these things that we see going on, prayer and school. There is a world system and an agenda to take God out of our culture and our society. Recognize that.

I don't want to be a part of that. And here Jesus is saying it's kind of either or. Now, here's the problem in reading something like this.

We read this and we go, okay, the world's supposed to hate me. I think I can work that out. Verse 20. 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 keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know him who sent me. Wow.

That's an incredible statement. Now, understand, Jesus is saying, don't be surprised by this. Don't be surprised by the tension. Don't be surprised by these things. This is just part of it. And somehow we get surprised somehow by that. I mean, I include myself in that. I get surprised at some of the venom and the bitterness that people direct at me sometimes.

I had some guy that actually set up an email account, I hate David McGee at yahoo.com. I mean, it was a little weird. To be honest, it caught me a little off guard, but now I'm kind of surprised when I don't get some hateful emails or hateful voicemails.

You'd be surprised. But you know what I think when I get those things? I got a totally different perspective now. When I get stuff like that and I'm thinking, they're getting close.

They're getting close. Because that shell is often the most brittle right before it breaks. So if you got that going on in your life with friends or family, be encouraged. Again, don't be obnoxious so you can be persecuted.

Because sometimes we do that. We're like, oh yeah, I hit him in the head with a Bible and now he wants to fire me because he's the boss. No, don't do that. There'll be natural persecution that happens. And he says, you know what, this is the stuff they did to me. They're going to do this to you. But I want you to notice something. Jesus says these things that they do to you, they're doing to you because they don't know me.

They don't know me. That puts a really different perspective on everything. See, when people do hateful things to you, it's because they don't know Jesus. And understand, you know, we often think that because we're walking with Jesus or trying to follow Jesus, now all of a sudden we got trials.

Wait a minute, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you not ever have any trials or conflict with the world before you became a Christian? I'll know there was conflict, there was trials then.

So let me ask you a question. Do you want to go through trials with Jesus or do you want to go through trials without Jesus? See, it's a wonderful option that we have to have the support of Jesus, the power of Jesus, the love of Jesus to take us through these things, take us through these things. And then also we need to know God more. We need to know God more. It's an interesting thing when you read Romans chapter one and it gets into all this depravity and stuff. What's interesting is it says in the middle of that chapter, but when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. And the thing that jumps out there is they knew God and all these things. So we need to be in a quest to know God. Now that's not just to know the Bible. It's certainly part of it. But in addition to knowing the word of God, you got to know the God of the word.

And as you read this book and as we study this book, we're drawn further and further into that relationship with the Lord. Verse 22, if I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Now, Jesus is not literally saying that they were sinless before he came. He's saying they have no excuse.

They have no cover. And I think that has to do more with the reason people reject Jesus. They reject Jesus because if they don't reject Jesus, then they've got to deal with the sin issue. I think it's the same thing to be honest, the creation versus evolution. Because I think once you admit that you believe the world was created, as God said he did, as many, many scientists now are saying there was some creation going on. And it's sad that a lot of the evolutionists understand this and do your own research. A lot of the evolutionists, they're leaving the camp that said, well, it's a big bang. I mean, come on. I mean, just the logic of that theory. There was nothing and then it exploded. I mean, there's kind of a flaw in that logic.

And then we've come up, well, it was billions and billions and billions of years ago. Wait a minute, wait. If you put the piece, and you've probably heard this, if you put the pieces of a watch in a bag, took it apart and put it in a bag and shook it, you think that it's going to come together as a watch? Well, if you shook it long enough.

No, no, no, no, no. That logic doesn't work. But I think the reason people reject creation is because when you come to the biblical model of creation, you've got a real problem then. Okay, if God did create the world, what's his expectation of you?

What's his desire for you? So then you get into the sin question. So Jesus is saying, you know, now that I've come to give you life, and when the light shines in the dark, it's uncomfortable, isn't it? It's uncomfortable. That's why, you know, if you go into a barn or outside or something, you cut on a light, you know, you can see little things scurrying everywhere.

Why? They're running from the light. That's what happens. When Jesus goes into an area, either people are drawn to it like a moth, or they run from it like a little beetle. Verse 23 says, he who hates me, hates my father also. So that kind of takes away the angle of people that love God, but reject and therefore hate Jesus.

And incidentally, you know, maybe you're sitting here, you're reading this, you go, well, that's all this, you know, hating and stuff. Wait a minute. Think about the way the world, the media portrays Jesus. Now think about the way the media portrays Christianity.

Really not far off, is it? Have you ever seen, well, there's rare, rare exceptions, but for the most part on television, have you ever seen a Christian who was like in his right mind on TV? I mean, it's really, really rare. You know, the most common example, right, is the guy who's on the sidewalk with some big placard, a big sign that says, repent, and he's hollering, and he looks like he's really not quite all there, you know, and of course he's got a Bible in his hand, doesn't he?

Wow. And of course they had some show, I can't remember the name of it, you know, that was on a few months ago, and the guy was a pastor, but he was addicted to painkillers, and the church secretary was a lesbian, and just all this weirdness, man. It's like that's how the world is representing Christianity, and that's how they represent Jesus.

Don't be surprised by that. Verse 24, if I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin, but now they have seen and also hated both me and my father. You see, with Jesus, with the real Jesus, there's no real neutral ground, and people that try to take neutral ground, I think it's kind of a coward's way out, to be honest. See, you either love Jesus or you hate Jesus or you misunderstand Jesus. The people that say, oh, Jesus, he's a nice guy, he's a good teacher, wait a minute, wait a minute, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, he didn't leave that as an option. He said he was God. Now, either he is God or he was lying or he was crazy. I mean, people that are nice people and good teachers don't run around saying, I'm God, and saying, I'm going to die for the sins of the world. So you can't just say, well, he was a nice man and a nice teacher.

He didn't leave that open to you. He's either all that he said he was or he's nothing. He was a crazy man and a liar, and each person has to make that decision. And that's why people get so passionate about either loving Jesus or hating Jesus. Because again, if they acknowledge Jesus is who he said he was, then that leads them to a decision. Just who Jesus is leads everybody to a decision. You either say, wow, somebody loved me enough to die for my sins, or you say, you know what, I don't buy it.

I reject it all. Do you understand what the worst sin in the world is? It's rejecting Jesus. Now, some of you just came up with some stuff that's not the worst sin. The worst sin in the world is rejecting Jesus.

Why? Because you can't be forgiven of that sin. You can't be forgiven of that sin. Because if you reject him, you're rejecting the only way you can receive the forgiveness for your sins. And it's sad that the world burns the bridge that Jesus has made. Verse 25, but this happened that the world might be fulfilled, which is written in their law, they hated me without cause. Again, they hate Jesus because if they love Jesus, they're gonna be called into this relationship. And again, this is why it's so important we love one another. Why?

Because people would be drawn to that. Jesus knows that. He says, love one another. Watch what happens when you're real and you love out loud, and watch how people will come to you and ask you for the answers. You're listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge.

He'll be right back with more in just a moment, but I want to remind you of the free resources available to you on crossthebridge.com. There's a team of hundreds of people that will pray for somebody to be saved. You have a loved one that needs to know Jesus as Savior. You need people to pray for them. You need someone to present God's word to them. Every day, we're presenting God's word to them here on Cross the Bridge with Pastor David McGee. We can pray for them as well, just by simply going to crossthebridge.com and click on the Pray for the Lost button. All you need to do is put in the first names of the people you love that need to know Jesus as Savior, click on Submit, and immediately hundreds of people will begin praying for your lost loved ones. What an awesome way to bring your loved ones to Jesus. Here's a word from Associate Pastor D.A.

Brown. We want to take just a minute to pray for seven cities in our listening audience. Walker, Michigan, Brainerd, Fergus Falls, and Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Biloxi, Friars Point, and Meridian, Mississippi. Lord, thank you that we're able to broadcast in these cities. Thank you for your good news, which will not return void. Lord, I pray for everyone listening right now, that they would be encouraged, that they would recognize that you love them greatly and you have a good plan. Lord, I pray for anyone in their lives who they've been trying to reach out to or they've been trying to share the gospel with.

We lift those up to you now. We pray that you would convince and convict and even encourage them to put their trust in you. And Lord, we pray and Lord, we pray for protection and safety in these cities. Give the police officers wisdom, the fire department wisdom, the town councils, the mayors, everyone in leadership, give them wisdom.

Help them to love one another. And Lord, we trust you that you're going to do a great work in these cities. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse 26, but when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me. So again, speaking back to the Holy Spirit. Now, let me share something because there's a really interesting picture in the Hebrew scriptures of something. And this is speaking of the Holy Spirit.

So I want to paint a picture. And if you've been here for very long, you may have heard this before, but it bears repeating. You possibly remember the story or maybe some of you have not heard it, but probably most have. In Genesis 22, when Abraham is called on to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the son of promise. Now, what happens is, you know, Abraham has promised the son for a long time. He tries to make it happen and goes with Hagar as handmade and they produce Ishmael, which is a work of the flesh that God does not recognize as the son of promise, which kind of, you know, means that our fleshly efforts aren't really going to meet with an approval of God. But then he has Isaac and God says, okay, I want you to go up on this mountain.

I want you to sacrifice your son. And I know that, you know, early on, you think, wow, how can, how can God ask him, you know, what was Abraham feeling like that day when he placed Isaac on the altar? And I know we grew up in Sunday school that, you know, Isaac was like a 12 year old boy. He wasn't a 12 year old boy. I'm not going into it this morning, but I believe he was about 30 years old.

Through the Bible, if you do a bunch of weird math, you can guess at that. But he was a man. And what was Abraham thinking as the sacrifice, as the sacrifice was going forward?

But you know what a better question is? That sacrifice got stopped. What was God feeling when the sacrifice with his son went through and happened? Well, pastor, you know, what's the connection?

There's a lot of connections. Genesis chapter 22, verse 2, it says, and he said, take now thy son, thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I tell thee of. So it's Mount Moriah. That's what we refer to that Mount that he offered his son Isaac on was Mount Moriah. Well, what's the importance?

What's the connection? Mount Moriah is an important place, and I'll tell you why. We're told, now you got to follow the thread of scripture, but we're told in 2 Chronicles 3, verse 1, now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Your attention, please. Mount Moriah is in Jerusalem and part of the Temple Mount, but it gets even better than that. You see, there's a ridge that runs through Jerusalem. There's actually, the city makes the letter sheen or the S in topography and geography, and that upper ridge is the one that has the Temple Mount on it, and it leads to a place outside of the city. Interestingly enough, it rises 777 meters above sea level, and now we know this place as Calvary, which I believe, and a lot of other scholars believe, is the actual place where Abraham offered Isaac.

The typography, the pictures go even further than that because here's what happens. After that moment on the mountain, we don't see Isaac anymore for a couple chapters. He actually, he's gone. What happens is Abraham, his father, sends his servant, this is so cool, sends his servant to find the bride bearing gifts to present to the bride. The same way the Holy Spirit is searching for the bride of Christ, presenting gifts to the bride, to the church. And the next time you see Isaac is when the Holy Spirit has taken the bride and presented the bride to the groom, the church being presented at the end of the age, to Jesus.

Now, there's something even that lends credence to this, and I'll tell you that. It's interesting, Genesis 24, we're not told the servant's name. Much like the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, we just know that this servant is on the quest to find the bride.

Now, go with me in this. Now, in Genesis 24, two, the servant is unnamed, but it says, so Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house. So we know that it was an oldest servant, but if you dig a little bit, here's what you find in Genesis chapter 15, verses two. But Abraham said, Lord God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. So Eliezer was that eldest servant. Pastor David, what does it have to do with anything? Eliezer was the one who went and bore gifts to give to the bride.

Eliezer's name in the Hebrew is God is my helper, God is my comforter. This book is so cool. And this stuff is so much better than taking every 49th letter and seeing what it spells.

I mean, this stuff that's in there is so incredible. So back to John, the helper comes. So here we have the Trinity, the helper, the father, and Jesus is speaking.

And notice something. It says the helper, and also the spirit of truth. Now, understand, helper or counselor, parakletes in the Greek, it's telling us that the Holy Spirit will help us and encourage us and strengthen us.

But he's also called the spirit of truth, meaning that he will teach us, illuminate God's word to us, that he will bear witness with us. He will give us comfort. And what should we do with this comfort that we're given? Second Corinthians chapter one tells us, it says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Your attention, please. The comfort that God gives you, his design is that you turn around and give that to somebody else, that you comfort somebody else. And part of what the Holy Spirit does in Acts chapter one, verse eight, we're told that you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. You receive power from the Holy Spirit to do what? To be witnesses, to be witnesses. That's plainly what that verse says.

Do you have that power? Verse 27, and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. He's tying witness and the Holy Spirit together in those two verses, been with me from the beginning.

See, now this is the thing. Jesus is saying, this is what's going, if you're following me, these are the things that are going to happen. You're going to love one another with a supernatural love.

The world's not going to get along with you or approve of you, but that's okay. That's not who you're following. And Jesus is saying here that he wants the disciples and he wants us to move beyond belief into love. You see, it's not enough just to sit there and go, yeah, I believe all this.

Yeah, I believe. I'm with you. I agree.

No, but are you moving beyond that? Because when you believe in Jesus, it leads to action. And Jesus in this chapter describes what that action is, loving one another, caring for one another, following him and not following the world. That's the decision that we have to make. And I understand that even as you look at this decision, you go, wow, that's an expensive decision.

Oh yeah, it is. It will cost you some things, but it will not cost you nearly what it costs Jesus. Whatever sacrifice you may be called upon to make, whatever inconvenience in your life that happens, whatever antagonisms or frictions that are introduced in your life through family, through friends, through people you work with pales in comparison to what Jesus went through for you.

Why did he go through those things? To give you the ability to be forgiven of your sins and to have a fresh start, a clean slate and a relationship with him. Some of you this morning know that you have that.

Some of you don't have that. Jesus offers you these things not because he thinks that you're good enough. He offers these things because he loves you that much, that he wants to forgive you, that he desires for you to have a relationship with him that's based upon grace. That is the unmerited favor of God.

And this morning, the Lord is asking you if you'll follow him. He's asking you, are you really happy being conformed to the world? Is that really bringing the peace and the joy and the love that you've been looking for? Or perhaps has it left you dry and dissatisfied and unhappy?

I understand if you're trying to straddle the fence, that can leave you even more unhappy than those who are either one side or the other. And for some of you, you need to make a commitment, not just I believe, but moving beyond belief and to love. As I heard one pastor say, Lord, reduce us to love, reduce this whole thing to love.

And yes, there's truth. We want to be walking in the truth, but we want to be walking in his love. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned.

And I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again.

So congratulations, friend, you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12-515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27117, and share how God is working in your life. You know, the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord, but it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood through radio, through the internet, and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use. So if you'd like to support this ministry, please go to crossthebridge.com, click on the donate button, and ask God how much he would have you give, either on a one-time basis or a continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's Word continues to go out through Cross the Bridge.

Thank you so much. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God, with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. Those are terrific, and it's easy and it's free, so folks, sign up today at crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.