Know This
Just as Jesus Was Hated
We Are Hated
Jesus
Christ chose to come to earth as a child, a humble carpenter and a
leader of a small group of men, the disciples, yet was subjected to
derision, hatred and physical pain simply because, He was Who He was.
The
people of ‘faith’ that had prayed for so long for a Messiah refused to
believe His Divinity because He did not come as the strong in body and
powerful person they wished Him to be.
I am here to tell you that Jesus was all they could have hoped Him to be but their human thoughts would not allow them to see.
Jesus
was not sent o seek out the hard headed mean spirited that existed nor
the ‘holier than thou’ pretenders. Jesus came to save the lost, the
people that prayed in their hearts and with their hearts for a
deliverer. He came for the humble, the open-hearted, the people in need.
There
was not a single hour that Jesus could not have sent His angels to
fight against the men that wanted to do away with Him. What He did was
to set an example and come to earth as a simple servant with great
humility and love.
Although
Jesus responded to the multitudes that plead with Him to meet their
needs with miracles of healing, and feeding them in impossible situations,
they refused to believe. He healed the sick, opened blind eyes,
unstopped deaf ears, loosed tied tongues, made the lame to walk and even
raised the dead, yet they would not believe!
Today there are televangelists that are believed more than Jesus was and that is sad!
Throughout history there is not a single person should be more revered, respected and loved than Jesus Christ. He should be honored and esteemed by all in the world but is not.
Not one
non-believer can name one person that died for man. They can follow
false prophets that only lived to gain their money, sexual satisfaction
and political power, but can not see a way to follow the One who gave His
life for their failure to believe. Their false pride in their own accomplishments prevents them for seeing God in their lives.
There
are literally thousands of reasons to love Jesus but it took only one
to hate Him. The four Gospels portray Him as kind, patient, long
suffering, full of forgiveness and willing for none to perish. He
is called a Shepherd, Rabbi, a Teacher, a Brother, Light in times of
darkness, Divine Physician, Healer, Advocate, Redeemer a Reconciler and
many other name of a positive nature and should not have been hated by
anyone.
Why was Jesus hated? Jesus came as a light to deliver man from darkness.
Jesus declared Himself to be the Light of the world...
John 8: 12When
Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life."
Even
before He spoke these words He told His disciples He would be hated for
His being as He was as would any that followed Him also hated.
John 3: 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
We
Christians see the holy gift of deliverance and liberty as gifts from
God, but those that continue to disbelieve Him or God’s Word (the Bible)
have no desire to live life in accordance with His Word. They would
rather live a life of sexual debauchery, chasing material things,
wielding control over other men, free to worship anything, and they wish and
sin as they wish.
Simply put, the world loves the things of the world and the fleshy pleasures that control their minds.
John 3: 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Just as Jesus was hated, and continues to be hated by many, we shall also be hated.
John 15: 19If
you belonged 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. That
is why the world hates you.
Just as Jesus was hated for His being the Light of this world, we are similarly hated for that self same reason!
Matthew 5: 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither
do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on
its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Think
back to the moment in time when you were born again in Christ. That
moment is when you first saw the Light and you fell in love with Jesus
and divorced yourself from the world. That was the moment when you became a person to be reviled and hated by non-believers.
As
Christians we look on in horror and disbelief as we see our own nation
set about stamping out everything pertaining to Christ. Our courts seek
to outlaw every mention of His name and seek to stop Christians from
having any rights to even protest their actions.
We
are reviled and said to be horrible people that seek to impose our
faith in God, in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit with the most evil
of actions imaginable. Although not a true representation of
Christianity the Inquisition, conducted by the Roman Catholic Church, is
cited as acts of Christianity! Brothers and sister, which is a false
assumption! Utterly false! All too many true Christians are all to willing to 'turn the other cheek' and accept cruelty.
True
Christians are most often the first responders in times of disaster.
Our every teaching is of love, peace, giving of self, providing care and
things of need and a humble people and people willing to pray for
others. Yet, we are hated, truly hated!
Why?
Why are we hated? Simply put, we ask that others put aside their
worldliness; we ask that they lead lives free from sin; we ask that they
forsake their lust for power, sexual gratification and cease their
fears of death.
Yet their hate continues and so do their unfounded reasons for hating us!
We
call out to men to repent from earthly pleasures and turn to God. We
ask the political leaders to put the interests of their constituents
ahead of their personal gains and ask business leaders to put their
desire of wealth aside and think of others.
Because of our acceptance of Christ and wanting others to share in our joy, we are hated!
John 12: 35Then
Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while
longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.
The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
What
Jesus was telling His disciples, and I now tell you, do not waver in
your faith in God. Do not allow yourself to begin to accept the ways of
the world to gain the approval of man. To do so is to allow darkness to overtake you. Do not be the Christian that bends with the times.
It
is a simple act to stop denying same sex marriages, to stop speaking
out against abortion, to begin to allow injustices as you simply look
the other way. It is easy to just sit silent and allow sin to rear its
ugly head and do nothing about it. I, for one, will never bow nor condone murder (abortion) and sinful unions.
Matthew 6: 22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But
if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then
the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Stop
looking at the world as sinful and accept sin as normal and timely and
you are allowing your lamp to live in a darken spirit. You will be the
‘liked person’ who is joining the group who are on the road to
damnation. Stand fast against evil and seek the Lord in all you do.
There
is one person to whom I ask you to consider. Tim Teebow. The calling of
money, friendship of those who hated him, and all the earthly pleasures
that were in store for him meant nothing to him as his love for his
Maker meant more to him that anything here on earth! This man is truly
worthy of our admiration and I rejoice at his willingness to stand
strong in his worship of Jesus Christ. To emulate him is a start for new believers.
Rejoice in the Lord for He is worthy of our praise!
(Closing prayer)
Abba,
Father, Creator of Heaven and earth, Almighty God, our hope and the
love of our lives we come to You humbly seeking Your Divine protection.
As You have written we are hated and lied about for our belief in You,
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We realize that this will be so for
our lives here on earth but are asking for Your protections to allow us
the opportunity to tell others of Your greatness and teach them the Good
News.
Lord
we realize that many of us may be called upon to withstand many
hardships, pain and mental anguish for being Your servants. These things
we will face and do so in a Christian manner. Our plea is to strengthen
us and instill in us the desire to do Your will. By that we are asking
to be seen as examples of Your love and caring yet willing to face the
wrath of those who hate us...
It
is not for our aggrandizement that we seek Your strength but to be men
and women that truly worship You and are willing to be subjected to
trials as we remain firm in our faith in You.
We
ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who
is one with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever,
--
Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
Conservative Patriot http://conpats.blogspot.com
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