Facing Kingdom Woes
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Revealing the vicious attacks of evil on the Kingdom and how to face them.
Text: John 16:1-4
Date: 09/29/2019, the Traditional service.
Series: "John: Encountering Love" Part 149
Description:
In the last lesson, Jesus described a glorious Kingdom Alliance consisting of the Holy Spirit and the church, that would continue the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom and carry the church forward into the Gospel Age. But in this lesson we learn the reason Jesus revealed that alliance in the midst of a discussion about hatred. The Kingdom Alliance will be brutally attacked by the forces of evil in a maniacal attempt to destroy it and stop the spread of the Gospel. In these verses, Jesus describes the nature, the reason, and the implied satanic origin of these Kingdom Woes. But as all things that God touches, there is good that will come of the evil. For it will serve to drive us to the understandingo of how desperately we need Jesus, and that our only safety and hope of success is to stay closely aligned with our all-powerful Ally, the Spirit of Truth!
View:
Options:
I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, John 16:1-4.
A. Context
1. The hatred of the world.
2. The Kingdom Alliance.
B. The depraved response of the fallen world.
1. The "trap" of hatred, vs. 1.
a. Determining "all things".
i. To warn His disciples.
ii. To comfort His disciples.
b. Avoiding the trap.
i. What Jesus DOES NOT mean.
• He doesn't mean salvation, John 10:28-29, 15:16, 14:16,17.
• Beyond taking offense, Matt. 26:31.
ii. What Jesus DOES mean.
2. The manifestations of hatred, vs. 2.
a. Excommunication
i. Tantamount to spiritual execution.
ii. Counting the cost, Luke 14:28-30.
b. Execution
i. The eschatological "hour".
ii. Murdering the church in God's name.
• A history of martyrdom, Acts 6:11,13.
• A travesty of justice, Rom. 6:9-10, Rom. 12:19.
• Noticing the irony.
3. The reason for hatred, vs. 3, John 15:21.
a. Hatred born of ignorance, John 15:23.
b. Hatred that is illogical.
i. An illogical response to revelation, John 15:22,24.
ii. The source of the problem, John 8:19, 42-44.
iii. Reasoning with a depraved mind.
iv. "Given over" to the darkness, Rom. 1:28, John 12:37-40.
4. The warning of demonic hatred, vs. 4.
a. Precluding the surprise of persecution.
i.The inevitability of persecution, 1Pet. 4:12.
ii. No excuse for surprise.
iii. Prior warnings.
• General persecution, Matt. 5:10-12.
• Physical persecution, Matt. 10:17-28.
b. Revealing the intensity of persecution.
C. Excursus: the dragon and the radiant woman, Rev. 12:1-17, Eph. 6:12.
III. Application, Rev. 20:10.
IV. Conclusion
