Unfulfilled Expectations
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Greg Waybright
- John 15:17-16:4
- Knocked Down But Not Out
- 46 mins 45 secs
- Views: 1731
Pastor's Note
Jesus said, "You do not belong to the world... That is why the world hates you." Is that necessarily so? There will be opposition when you are faithful to him. Jesus wants you to be ready for it and faithful in the midst of it. Are you ready?
Study Notes
Unfulfilled Expectations - Week 9 - Study Notes
unfulfilled expectations
John 15:17-16:4
There are few things more devastating to human experience than unfulfilled expectations. Every child, like Ralphie Parker in Christmas Story, who didn’t get the Christmas present he wanted -- the “Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time” -- knows what I’m talking about. And the impact of unfulfilled expectations on our relationships is inestimable. The girl who expected the boy to call her last night, the child who expected Dad to make it to the big game, the employee who expected the promotion, the husband who expected his wife to be faithful… Ask any of them and they will all tell you the same thing: There are few things that have more power to devastate us than when what we expect to happen – hope to happen -- does not happen.
Jesus was very aware of this reality. When you read the four accounts of Jesus in the four Gospels, you see again and again that Jesus often did not fulfill the expectations of the people in his society – especially of those who were in positions of religious or political power. And, it becomes very clear to me, as I turn to John 15:18-16:4 that Jesus wants to make sure we know what we’re in for when we place our faith in him.
Out of love for all those who follow him, Jesus took up the topic of expectations on his last day before he would die on the cross. He knew that unanticipated pain and opposition would lead to disappointment and would make many who claim to be Christians go astray. This was true in the first century. It’s still true today. How many people have quit going to church and have given up on “religion” because their religion did not do for them what they expected it to do? The answer? Many.
It’s clear to me when I read Jesus’ words to his disciples in today’s text, that our relationship to him should make a difference in our lives when things don’t go the way we expect. And, truthfully, many of you in our own church family have been teaching me about how to walk with Jesus in those times when things don’t go the ways we had hoped they would. So, right at the beginning of my message, I want to show you one powerful example of this, the story of Terry La Bossiere, who serves us so faithfully week-by-week out in the plaza. (Video.)
A Clarification
Terry has found life and meaning in the midst of huge challenges through faithful service to the Lord. Her testimony sounds like she was reading John 13-17 long before I started this series of sermons. Of course, as we come today to John 15:18, we quickly see that the main unfulfilled expectation that Jesus knew the disciples would soon face was opposition from people in the world simply because of their faith in Him. So, just after giving us the command, “Love one another!” in v.17, Jesus immediately says in v.18, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.”
My clarification is this: Jesus is not saying that every moment of every day and in every encounter, we should expect to experience pain and opposition. But Jesus does make it clear, that each of us should anticipate times in which it seems like the whole world is against us. The “if” clause in v.18 makes that clear: “If the world hates you…”, he says. Jesus knew there would be good days when people see us loving as Jesus loves and acknowledge that this is good. I discover that we at LAC experience a warm response from many in our community when they see us involved positively in our public schools, caring for the homeless, and providing counsel for those who are struggling or alienated.
But, I read John 15:18ff and envision Jesus looking with great compassion at those who would carry his message from Jerusalem out in to the world and wanting them (and us) to be prepared. Jesus had always experienced this kind of persecution and soon would be put to death. When we live life according to Jesus’ commands, we should expect that we sometimes will experience exactly what he experienced. As Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you (15:20).”
In the moments we have today to look at what Jesus said we should expect, I want to help you grasp two things: 1) why opposition happens to Christians and 2) how you can handle it when it comes.
Why Would Anyone “Knock Down” Jesus-followers
Reason #1: We’re Like Aliens to the World – “You are not of the world. I chose you out of the world. Therefore, the world hates you (15:19).”
Remember that Jesus’ words that we do not belong to the world flow directly from his teaching that, when we place our faith in him, we become connected to Jesus like a branch is to a vine. In other words, his life flows through us. As Paul put it in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This reality always changes us. What is it like?
At the end of JRR Tolkien’s Return of the King, the two main bearers of the “one ring to rule all rings”, the formerly very ordinary and unremarkable hobbit heroes, Bilbo and Frodo, return to the Shire. But, when they return, they discovered that they are changed. Oh, they still love the Shire. They fight to clean up the evil in the shire. But, they no longer seem to belong. After their contact with the great supernatural leaders like elves, trolls, trees and the great wizard Gandalf, a different life force has entered them. A greatness of heart fills them. They laugh louder. They cry more deeply. They see into the future and seem to know where things are headed and what things matter. They have a perspective on everything that is bigger than those around them who have never known another world.
They seem strange. They sit for hours and look out over the sea in contemplation. They love their homeland but the citizenship of their hearts has shifted. The rootedness of their inner beings is no longer in the Shire. It’s over the sea. They no longer belong to the shire. And, they sing songs of their new home:
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees.
Thy starlight on the Western Seas…
At the end, they leave their former land to go to the place where know they belong.
Jesus is saying here that we who are Christians now are connected to God. He really is saying in these verses, “You do not fully grasp what’s happened to you. Through your faith in me, the life of God has entered into you.” When you trust Jesus, your approach to everything changes: your view of life and death, your values, your security, the way you look at life and think about people, your political convictions probably won’t fit easily into any particular party in the word, your moral convictions are guided by God, etc. You are so changed that, more and more, people in the world won’t be able to figure you out. So, your relationship as a Christian to your old homeland, family and friendships is complex. You will love them and serve them. But, they’ll never fully understand you – not when you are following Jesus. Sometimes, their lack of understanding will lead to hostility, and some times even to persecution.
Listen to me carefully here: I am afraid that our churches in the USA have become so big and successful that we may not be as counter-cultural as we should be. We may be far, far too much at home in this world. Many among us are not yet as fully committed to Jesus as Jesus tells us we must be when he lives in us. He’s saying, “Don’t miss the radical nature of what is happening to you when you follow me.” We become citizens of heaven and live by God’s directives. We will feel like aliens in our own land.
Reason #2: We insist on living as God commands us -- If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours (15:20).
It’s interesting how Jesus links persecution to the willingness of people to keep his words. The reason is because Jesus brings the authoritative commands of God into their lives. In Jewish synagogues, the main religious leaders sat and listened to the teaching. If they found the teaching acceptable, they said at the end, “Amen, Amen!” But, Jesus started his declarations with “Amen, Amen!” In doing so, he was declaring that his teaching had authority that was not subject to human authority. When he spoke, God spoke.
So, what did Jesus do? Jesus corrected false teaching. He called people to faithfulness in their marriages. He commanded them to love enemies, to value children and to turn from evil of all kinds. Everything he commanded was good. But, people hated the fact that he called them away from self. Fallen human beings did not want anyone to tell them how to live – even Jesus. And the same is surely true in the 21st C.
Here in Southern California, self is god and the main commandment is “Thou shalt not tell me anything that I shalt not do – unless someone might be hurt by it.” There is a deep commitment in our culture to the idea that there is no truth outside ourselves that should compel us to obey. But, when we meet Jesus, we (as Jesus said in 15:10, 11,12,13 & 17), keep his commands. So, in our culture, the ultimate determining point for our moral decision-making is, “I feel this or that is right for me.” If you say, “God’s Word says no” – you will be viewed as a bigot. And this will lead to scorn -- and sometimes to persecution.
Listen carefully here – because of the size and significance of the church in the USA – so different from the small and under-resourced church in the 1st C – when we stand for God’s ways, we can come off as self-righteous. Being persecuted for being self-righteous and seeking to wield power is not what Jesus is talking about. He is calling us as a church to keep his commands and to give testimony to the goodness of his commands to all the people of the world.
Reason #3: We Give Witness to the Only One Who Can Save Us -- You will bear witness about me… And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me (15:27; 16:3).
One of the claims that Jesus made and that he calls us to make is what we read back in 14:6: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” This exclusive claim, that Jesus and Jesus alone lived the sinless life that we all should have live (but haven’t) and then was willing to die in our place the death we should have to die, is both beautiful and off-putting. It’s humiliating to the proud human heart to say that we are in trouble and are so sinful that we need someone to die in our place. And, it’s repugnant to a self-centered and pluralistic world to declare that only Jesus can save. But, a significant part of our calling is to be witnesses to Jesus because have no eternal hope without him.
Notice at this point that Jesus tells you such things because he loves you. He knows how devastating it would be if scorn, pain and persecution come and you are not prepared for it. Jesus said first in 16:1 -- “I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away.” He could see into the lives of his people and knew that the unexpected realities of pain and persecution would be a main cause for people turning away from him. And, Jesus repeated his conviction in different words in 16:4 – “I have said things to you, that when the hours of persecution come, you may remember I told them to you.”
How Do You Handle the Knockdown When It Comes?
Throughout his teaching on this last day before his death, he has directed us to the three resources that should sustain us through whatever this world throws at us so that – as Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:9 -- although we may feel we have been knocked down by the challenges of the world, we will never be knocked out. Let me remind you of them here because that’s exactly what Jesus seems to have done:
Resource #1: A Loving Family – The command to people in a church family like this one to love one another fills the entire teaching that Jesus gave on this last day of his life. And, do not miss the fact that he repeated the command in 15:17 just before talking about the persecution we should expect to face in the world. Jesus said, “These things I command you so that you will love one another.”
We all need other people committed to Jesus to support us in this world. You will need me and I will need you. I have found that, when heavy burdens come in this world, carrying a part of someone else’s load seems light than carrying my own. God seems to have built us that way – and he’s given us to one another. So, please get as closely connected to your church as is possible for you. Find a small group that will pray with you. Find a place to serve – as Terry has – and you will discover just what she discovered, i.e., that is in in serving others in your church family that you find your own burden lightened.
Resource #2: A Trustworthy Lord – Another think that Jesus called us to remember throughout this final day of teaching is that we must learn to trust him. Remember John 14? “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God. Trust me. I know where I’m going and I know what I’m doing even if you do not. I’m doing what I’m doing for you! Trust me! And, while you trust me, wait for me. And as you wait for me, be faithful to live for me.”
In his insight-filled book, Disappointment with God, Phil Yancey points out at much greater length than I can in a sermon how necessary it is to put suffering into the context of a much bigger plan. I recommend it to you. But in these few moments, let me ask you -- Do you understand why Jesus says in 16:4, “I have said these things to you so that when the persecution comes you will remember them…”? He says it so that you will know that he knows all about those difficult times. They are all under his control! And, just as he will use a cross to bring about salvation, so too he will use whatever difficulty comes your way to do more than you could ever imagine. Yes, as Paul declared in Rom. 8, God will work all things together for a greater good until all is made new. He is worthy of trust.
Resource #3: An Ever-present Divine Helper – Earlier in his time with his disciples, Jesus had made the point, “I am leaving but I will not leave you alone. I will come to you through my Holy Spirit. He will guide you. He will sustain you.” Here again, in vv.24-26, Jesus says, “Hatred may come to you but the promised Holy Spirit, i.e., the Helper or ‘the one like me who comes alongside to stand with you’ will come. You will never be orphaned. Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
It’s clear to me that with the family of God in your life, the trust of Jesus in your convictions, and the Spirit of God in your heart, you can withstand anything this world throws at you. That’s what Jesus is proclaiming.
Jesus always made it clear that following him will be costly, that it may cost life itself. “When Christ calls you, he bids you come and die.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.
What is the big thing in these words Jesus spoke just before going to die for you? The main thing is there will be opposition when you are faithful to him. Jesus wants you to be ready for it and faithful in the midst of it. Are you ready?
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church
Chinese Translation
Unfulfilled Expectations - Week 9 - Study Notes - Chinese Translation
破碎但不丟棄----落空的期望
約翰福音15：17 – 16：4
在人類的經歷中，沒有什麽比期望落空對我們更具有破壞性了。在“聖誕故事”之中，有一個孩子名叫拉菲•帕克，他沒有得到自己想要得到的聖誕禮物–紅色萊德卡賓槍。這是一種短射程步槍，裏面還帶有指南針和鐘表。每個孩子都知道我在說什麽。在與人的關系中，我們因著期望落空而受到的沖擊是無法估計的。你可以去問問那些有所期盼的人們 -- 期望升職的職員，期望太太忠誠於他的丈夫等等，每個人都會告訴你同一件事，那就是，很少有什麽事情，比我們的期望落空更能摧毀我們了。
耶穌非常了解這個事實，當你在四福音中讀到耶穌的事跡時，你會多次發現，耶穌通常不會滿足人們的心願，尤其是對於那些在宗教和政治上處於主導地位的人。在約翰福音15:18—16:4中，耶穌想讓我們知道，信靠祂究竟意味著什麽。
因著愛那些跟隨祂的人，耶穌在上十架受死之前，講到了期望這個主題。祂知道，意想不到的痛苦和反對，不但會令人失望，也會讓那些自稱為基督徒的人迷途不返。在第一世紀時，這是事實，在今天依然如此。有多少人不再去教會、放棄信仰，就是因為他們所信的，沒有將他們所期望的帶給他們。為什麽？原因有很多。
當我們在現今的背景中讀耶穌對門徒所說的話時，我們應當知道，當事情不向我們所期望的方向發展時，我們的生命應該因著我們與耶穌的關系而有所改變。說實話，我們教會之中的許多人，都教導了我如何在事與願違的時候學會與耶穌同行。因此，在我的信息的一開始，我想告訴你一個有力的見證，那就是Terry La Bossiere的故事。她在教會的廣場中一周又一周地忠實地服事我們。（請看錄像）
澄清一個事實
Terry 在強大的挑戰之中，通過對主的忠心事奉，找到了她生命的意義。從她的見證中，我看得出，在我開始這篇講道之前很久，她就已經讀過約翰福音13：17了。當然，在約翰福音15：18中，耶穌知道，門徒們所要面對的即將落空的期望，主要是世人因著他們對主的信仰而反對他們。因此，當耶穌在17節中命令我們“彼此相愛”之後，祂立刻在第18節中說：“世人若恨你們，你們知道恨你們以先，已經恨我了。”
我要澄清的是，耶穌並不是說，每一天的每一刻，我們都會經歷痛苦與敵對，然而耶穌很清楚地說明，我們每個人，都應該為經歷世人的反對而做好準備。在第18節的“如果”從句中，說得很清楚，祂說，“世人若恨你們”，耶穌知道，當人們知道我們正如耶穌愛我們一樣彼此相愛的時候，他們會認識到這其中的益處，基督徒們也會因諸如此類而有幸福的日子。我發現，在教會中，當人們看到我們積極參加公立學校的活動、照顧無家可歸的人、為那些經歷困苦的人提供幫助時，我們都會經歷到這個大家庭中很多人熱情的回應。
然而，讀了約翰福音15:18，我看到，耶穌對那些會將祂的信息從耶路撒冷傳到地極的人充滿了熱情的盼望，希望他們（也包括我們）做好準備。耶穌經常經歷迫害，並且當時祂很快就會被處死。當我們按照耶穌的命令生活的時候，我們應該期望自己可能會經歷耶穌所經歷過的事情。正如耶穌所說的，“他們若逼迫了我，也要逼迫你們（15：20）。”
從現今的角度來看耶穌所說的我們將要經歷的，我想讓你抓住兩個要點：第一，為什麽人們要敵對基督徒；第二，當受到敵對的時候應該如何處理。
為什麽人們拒絕基督徒
原因之一：我們是不屬世界的。“只因你們不屬世界，乃是我從世界中揀選了你們，所有世界就恨你們（15:19）。”
記住，耶穌說我們不屬世界的時候，是在祂教導門徒時說的。當我們信靠祂的時候，我們就如枝子與樹木相連一樣，和耶穌連接在一起。換句話說，祂的生命通過我們而得到彰顯。就像保羅在加拉太書2:20所說的，“我已經與基督同釘十字架。現在活著的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裏面活著。這個事實常常改變我們。正像什麽呢？
在約翰•羅納德•魯埃爾•托爾金的書“君王的再來”中，談到從前很普通平凡的霍比特英雄，比爾波和弗洛德，回到他們的家鄉夏爾。然而，當他們回去的時候，他們發現自己已經改變了。他們仍然愛夏爾。他們為了清除在夏爾的邪惡勢力而奮戰。但是，他們無法再有歸屬感。當他們與精靈、樹木、偉大的巫師甘德福等超自然的領袖接觸之後，一種不同的生命能力就進入到他們裏面。一種心靈的崇高感充滿了他們。他們大聲地笑、深深地哭泣。他們能預知未來，了解事物變化。他們這些從來不知道，還有其他超越這個世界的人，對所有那些比圍繞他們身邊的事物更大的事物都有定見。
他們看起來很奇怪。他們長時間靜坐，望著大海出神沈思。他們愛他們的家鄉，但是他們的心靈的故鄉早已遊移。他們內在的根已經不再是夏爾了，而是在大海的那一邊。他們已經不再屬於夏爾了。他們唱著他們新家鄉的歌：
我們仍然記得，我們居住在
遠方的樹下
你的星光升起在西海上……
最後，他們離開了他們以前的家鄉，去到他們心靈所屬的地方。
耶穌在這裏的意思是，我們現在是已經與神連接的基督徒。祂非常肯定地說了這些話，“你們沒有完全了解發生在你身上的事情。通過你們在我裏面的信心，神的生命就會進到你們裏面。”當你信靠耶穌時，你的一切都會改變：你對生與死的看法，你的價值觀，你的安全觀，你對生命和人際關系的看法，你的政治信念，你可能不會簡單地認同於世間任何一個團體或政黨；你的道德信念也是被神帶領的等等。你會不停地、更多地被改變。屬世的人再無法猜透你，因此，作為一個基督徒，你與你的故鄉、你的家庭、你的老朋友的關系變得比以前復雜了。你會愛他們，並且服事他們。但他們卻將永遠無法像以前那樣完全明白你了。有些時候，因他們缺乏了解就會產生敵意，有些時候甚至會產生迫害。
仔細聽我說的話：我擔心我們在美國的教會變得這麽大、這麽成功，以至於我們不再像從前那樣反文化。我們可能已經太世俗化了。在我們中間的一些人還沒有完全地委身給耶穌，並沒有像耶穌在世上命令我們的那樣做。
祂說：“當你們跟隨我的時候，不要忽略發生在你們身上的事情的一些極端本質。我們成為天國的子民，並且因著神的引領而活著。我們將會感覺到，我們像異鄉人生活在自己的土地上。
原因之二：我們堅持按照神的命令生活–他們若逼迫了我，也要逼迫你們。若遵守了我的話，也要遵守你們的話（15:20）。
很有意思，耶穌在這裏把逼迫與人們遵守祂的話語相連接。原因是，耶穌將神的主權命令帶到他們的生命中。在猶太人的會堂裏，主要的宗教領袖都會坐在裏面聽人的教導。如果他們認為人們的教導能被接受，他們就會在最後說，“阿門，阿門！”但是，耶穌以“阿門！阿門！”為祂宣告的開始。當祂說話的時候，也就是神說話的時候。
耶穌做了什麽？祂更正了錯誤的教導。祂呼召人們對婚姻忠心；祂命令人們愛仇敵；重視孩童；轉離邪惡。祂的每一個命令都是好的。然而，當祂呼召他們轉離自我的時候，人們就很不喜歡了。墮落的人類不想讓別人告訴他們要怎樣生活，哪怕那個人是耶穌。在二十一世紀的今天這當然也是正確的。
這裏是南加州，在這裏，自我就是神，並且主要的命令是，“不可告訴我哪些事情不能做–除非那件事會傷害到他人。”在我們的文化中，人們深信，除了我們自己之外，沒有必須要遵從的真理。但是，當我們遇見耶穌，我們（正如耶穌在15:10,11,12,13和17節中所說的）遵守祂的命令。因此，在我們的文化中，最終決定我們道德標準的因素是：“我覺得這個或那個是正確的”。如果你說，“神的話語說” ---- 你就會被看成狹隘偏執的人。這就會導致責備，有時候還會招來逼迫。
仔細聽清楚，因為美國教會的大小和重要性程度不同–-- 與第一世紀的規模小而又資源缺乏的第一世紀教會相比是如此的不同----當我們站在神的角度時，我們可能是自義。耶穌所說的，不是因著自義和尋求能力而受逼迫。祂是在呼召教會遵守祂的命令，並且向世人為祂的命令做見證。
原因之三：我們為唯一能拯救我的那一位作見證。“你們也要作見證，因為你們從起頭就與我同在。他們這樣行，是因未曾認識父，也未曾認識我。” (15:27; 16:3).
耶穌的宣告之一，也就是祂召喚我們去實現的，是祂在14:6中所說的話：“若不藉著我，沒有人能到父那裏去。”這個獨特的宣告的意思是，耶穌活出了無罪的生命（是我們應該具有、然而卻沒有的）並且祂願意為罪人而受死，這件事既是美麗的又是令人困惑的。對於驕傲的來說，這是一種恥辱。他們心裏說，我們有麻煩了，而且是有罪的，我們需要有人來替我們死，這是羞辱的。而且，對自我中心的人和多元化的世界來說，這是令人厭惡的，這宣告了只有耶穌可以施行拯救。但是，在我們所蒙的呼召中，一個重要的部分，就是要見證耶穌，因為沒有祂，我們就沒有永恒的希望。
現在我們應當了解，耶穌告訴我們這些事情，是因為祂愛我們。祂知道，當責備、痛苦和逼迫來臨的時候，如果你沒有準備好，會有多大的破壞性。耶穌在16:1說：“我已將這些事告訴你們，使你們不至於跌倒。”祂能夠看到祂子民的生命深處，祂知道，意想不到的痛苦和逼迫，是人們離開祂的一個最主要的原因。在16：4中，耶穌又重申了祂的宣告：“我將這事告訴你們，是叫你們到了時候，可以想起我對你們說過了。”
當破碎臨到時，你會怎樣處理
耶穌透過祂受死之前幾天當中的教導，給我們指出三個資源，因著這些資源，無論世界如何對待我們，我們都能站立得住。因此，保羅在哥林多後書4章9節中寫到：“遭逼迫卻不被丟棄，打到了卻不致死亡”。我在這裏提醒你們這些事，因為這正是耶穌在面臨逼迫的時候所行的。
資源之一：一個有愛的家庭——這是祂給教會的命令----彼此相愛。耶穌在世上的最後一天中，祂的這個命令幾乎充滿了祂所有的教導。不要忘記，耶穌在談到我們在世上可能會遇到的逼迫之前，又在15章17節中重復了這個命令，祂說：“我這樣吩咐你們，是要叫你們彼此相愛。”
我們所有的人都需要其他人來委身於耶穌，來支持我們。你會需要我，我也會需要你。我發現，當重擔來臨的時候，挑起其他人的一部分重擔，似乎比挑自己的擔子要輕省一些。神似乎已經為我們設定了這樣的模式——其實祂已經把我們每一人交給了其他的人。因此，為著你自己的緣故，請盡最大可能地將自己與教會相連接。找到一個為你禱告的小組。找到一個你可以事奉的地方（正如Terry所做的），這樣你就會發現她所發現的事實，那就是，當你在一個教會中與弟兄姐妹彼此服事的時候，你的重擔變得輕省了。
資源之二：值得信賴的主——耶穌呼召我們通過他最後的教導，而要讓我們記住：我們必須要學習信靠祂。請記住約翰福音十四章第一節：“你們心裏不要憂愁，你們信神，也當信我。我知道我要去的地方，並且你們不知道你們在做什麽，我卻知道我在做什麽，我正在為你們做工。相信我！你們相信我，就會等候我。如果你們等候我，就忠心地位我而活。”
在他的這本充滿洞察力的書 ---- 《對神失望》中，費.楊思用比我的講道要長篇大論得多的篇幅論述，將經歷磨難這件事放在人生的整個宏偉的計劃中是何等的重要。我將這本書推薦給你們。但在這最後短短的幾分鐘裏，讓我來問大家：你們是否明白，耶穌為什麽在約翰福音16章4節中說：“我將這事告訴你們，是叫你們到了時候，可以想起我對你們說過了。我起先沒有將這事告訴你們，因為我與你們同在。”因祂這樣說，你就因此知道，耶穌早已知道所有這些苦難的時刻。而這一切都在耶穌的掌控中！正如耶穌將使用十字架去實現救恩計劃一樣，祂將會使用任何可能出現在你們生命中的困難，去成就超過你們所求所想的事情。是的，正如保羅在羅馬書8章所宣告的那樣：“神讓萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處，祂是值得信靠的。”
資源之三：隨時與我們同在的保惠師——當耶穌還與門徒同在的時候，祂曾說：“我將要離開你們，但我卻不會撇下你們，我要從父那裏差保惠師來，就是從父出來真理的聖靈。聖靈將引導你們，聖靈將支持你們。”這裏（約翰福音十五章24-26節）耶穌再次說道：“恨我的將會去到你們那裏，但神應許的聖靈——就是那保惠師同樣會來。‘那像我一樣，與你同在、堅立你的那一位’將會到來。你永遠不會孤獨，不要讓你的心憂愁”。
對於我來說，很顯然，如果我們一生都住在神的家中、一生信靠耶穌，並且有神的靈住在我們心裏，無論世界上的任何事臨到我們，我們都能經受的住。這就是耶穌向我們宣告的。
耶穌總是明確指出，跟隨祂將要付出很高的代價，可能是付出生命的代價。“當基督呼召你時，祂付出高額的代價讓你跟隨並為他而死。”——迪特裏希.朋霍費爾，《作門徒的代價》。
耶穌在受死之前所說的話中最重要的是什麽？祂是要告訴你，當你信靠了耶穌之後，會有人反對你。耶穌希望你為此做好準備，並且帶著完備的信心進入其中。你準備好了嗎？
榮耀歸給神，
Greg Waybright 博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church