Out of This World

Feb. 17

Read: John 15:18-27

Out of This World

With all the talk of UFO’s… it is fun to reads these words of Jesus:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” -Jesus (v.18,19)

Christianity is an “other-worldly” faith. If we do not think there is any “other world”, then there is no way we will be able to embrace or live into the truths that Jesus is teaching us. We live in the midst of two “worlds”… two “kingdoms” that are unfolding before us. These worlds or kingdoms each has their own king. Jesus is KING of KINGS and the ruler of the Kingdom of God. The devil or “dragon” is the ruler of “this world”. (cf. v. 11) (it may be worth noting he is called a “prince” and we all know that princes are lower than kings!) To be made alive in Christ is to be brought “out of this world” and into the Kingdom of God. To be snatched out of this world and brought to life in the Kingdom of God is the GOOD NEWS that Jesus spoke of… this is “the gospel of God”. (cf. Mark 1:15, Acts 1:3, etc.)

Why would we as Christians expect to find friendship with the world?! The world will never “love us as its own”… so maybe we need to stop trying to get them to like us! Jesus seems pretty straight forward in his teaching on the matter. Each of these worlds or kingdoms has a spiritual influence at play. Neither kingdom is purely “flesh” or matter … but each has a component / corollary in the spiritual realm. The “ruler of this world” is not hiding. In fact more and more he is boldly putting on display his agenda. (Take for instance this years Grammy’s! - Yuck!) We know from John 10:10 that the enemy has only one end goal: DESTRUCTION. I know it sounds drastic and extreme, but the goal of the enemy is nothing short of the destruction of humanity. Literally = DEATH.

This is hard for most people to believe. We scoff at the idea. Most of us think that humans are in charge of the world… even many Christians. We functionally cannot get “onboard” with anything “out of this world”. It sounds like a “conspiracy theory” to say that there is a “ruler of this world” who is seeking to destroy humanity. The problem is, THAT IS EXACTLY HOW THE BIBLE DESCRIBES IT! Jesus is the only hope for the world… he is the only “way, truth, and life”.

Jesus CHOSE YOU out of the world. He has called you to life in a new paradigm… a new way of living. He has opened your eyes to the schemes of the devil. He has called you to a different economy… a different way of life… a different allegiance. He is calling you to place your HOPE and trust in him even more so than any government, elected official, or system that this “world” has to offer. The days of Christianity being “accepted” are in the past. Do not be surprised when the world “hates you”. It hated Jesus long before it hated you and I. Ask the Spirit to open your eyes to this “other world” that you have been brought into… to give you “eyes to see” the Kingdom of God. Be ready to see the stark contrast between this world and the Kingdom of God. We are on a rescue mission - bringing the true hope of the world that is JESUS CHRIST. Expect opposition. Jesus told you about it ahead of time so it would not rattle your cage when it happened. Here is to living “other-worldly”! Love you guys.