The First Deadly Sin - Pride

This is the manuscript of the first sermon in the "7 Deadly Sins" series.

I am starting a series to talk about something we don't talk about much in church today. We are going to talk about sin.  We love to talk about the blessings that come with being a child of God, but we don't talk about the reason that God had to send His Son to die so that we would be able to receive those blessings.  The reason He had to send His Son was sin.

We often hear people talk about “The Seven Deadly Sins” like there is a list in the Bible.  However, there is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible.  The Bible says that the penalty for all sin is death.

The list of the seven deadly sins were first compiled by Pope Gregory I around the year 600 AD. Pope Gregory divided all sins under seven headings because he believed that every sin a person commits can be classified under one of these seven categories. These categories are what has come to be called “the seven deadly sins.” 

They are;

1. Pride

2. Anger (Wrath)

3. Envy

4. Impurity (Lust) 

5. Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)  

6. Slothfulness (Laziness)

7. Avarice (Greed)

These seven sins are inward attitudes that affect character as well as conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.

We’re going to start the series. today with the sin of pride because all other sins grow out of this one.

Proverbs 16:18 NIV Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:5 NIV The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 29:23 NIV Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

Scripture:

James 4:3‭-‬11 NIV When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.

Introduction

I am starting a series to talk about something we don't talk about much in church today. We are going to talk about sin.  We love to talk about the blessings that come with being a child of God, but we don't talk about the reason that God had to send His Son to die so that we would be able to receive those blessings.  The reason He had to send His Son was sin.

So, the series for the next eight weeks is “The Seven Deadly Sins.”   Today and for the next six Sundays, we will look at each sin separately.  Then we are going to end on the eighth Sunday with “Jesus the Deliverer from Sin”, because we know that through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be delivered from all sin.

We often hear people talk about “The Seven Deadly Sins” like there is a list in the Bible.  Well guess what there is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible.  Actually, the Bible says that the penalty for all sin is death.

Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The list of the seven deadly sins were first compiled by Pope Gregory I around the year 600 AD. Pope Gregory divided all sins under seven headings because he believed that every sin a person commits can be classified under one of these seven categories. These categories are what has come to be called “the seven deadly sins.” 

They are;

1. Pride

2. Anger (Wrath)

3. Envy

4. Impurity (Lust) 

5. Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)  

6. Slothfulness (Laziness)

7. Avarice (Greed)

These seven sins are inward attitudes that affect character as well as conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.

We’re going to start the series. today with the sin of pride. Pope Gregory put this sin at the beginning of the list because he believed that all other sins grow out of this one. 

Our Text today is three verses from the book of Proverbs.  Each one of these verses makes a point 

Text: 

Proverbs 16:18 NIV Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:5 NIV The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 29:23 NIV Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

I know that I gave you these verses are out of order but there is a reason I did this.  

I. I started with Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”;  because pride is often the source of all our troubles.

A. Synonyms for pride are arrogance, haughtiness, insolence, contempt, snobbery, presumptuousness, rudeness, sassiness, audacity, disdain, and impudence.

Actually, the list could be longer, but such an endless listing would serve no purpose beyond that which has already been made and that is that pride brings forth a multitude of sinful attitudes and actions.

B. Pride that is unchecked alienates us not only from God but also from other people. It may be a feeling of superiority based on racism, nationalism, intellectualism, social station, spirituality, or materialism. Regardless of its basis, excessive pride that causes us to act arrogantly before people and strut in the presence of the Almighty is a harmful detriment to anybody's future.

C. Now I realize that no one lives out their life without making mistakes. Most of us have made some serious mistakes, i know that I have.  We have made the kinds of mistakes where we really need our families’ and friends’ support. But when we are filled with pride, we are often left to fend for ourselves.  We have turned our friends and family off with our attitude. 

II. Pride is hated by God.

Prov. 16:5 NIV says“The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished”.

A. Now let’s be clear God doesn’t hate healthy self-respect. Some Christians have the impression that it is a sin to believe in yourself, your talents, or your capabilities. These are the people who try to develop an attitude of false humility that ignores the gifts, talents or spiritual maturity that God has given them.  This is a kind of “reverse” pride. They think that the more they play down their God-given abilities, the more others will heap praises on them. These people are playing at humility in order to get others to build them up with praise.  

B. The pride that God hates is an arrogance. This is evident in someone who thinks more highly of themselves than they should.  Believing that God has given them the wisdom to always be right is arrogance. 

Let me give you a real-life example 

Board meeting example

Romans 12:3‭-‬8 NIV says For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

C. The punishment of God is promised to the person who is conceited and self-inflated. Look at Prov. 16:5 NIV again “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished”.

Like my mother used to say, “The chickens will come home to roost!”.  In other words “what goes around comes around”, or what you sow you will reap.  

Galatians 6:7‭-‬10 NIV Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Sooner or later there will be a day of reckoning.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

III. Finally pride leads to humiliation.

Prov. 29:23 NIV “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor” .

A. Unhealthy pride is a form of self-deification. Someone once wrote, “Every man would like to be God, if it were possible; some few find it difficult to admit the impossibility”. 

Adam and Eve’s sin was one of a desire to be God—knowing the difference between good and evil.

Genesis 3:1‭-‬6 NIV Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Let’s be honest today, we have the desire to control our own destiny and that leads us to believe, falsely I might add, that we can control our own emotions, attitudes, abilities, and intellect without God’s help. 

That kind of faulty reasoning has led to secular humanism, which is the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God and we know that isn't true.

B. Adam and Eve died a spiritual and eventually physical death and passed it on to us because of their sin of pride.  They wanted to be God. 

God promises to do the same to all of us who do not accept our dependence on Him.   When your dependence is on God and not your gifts or talents you don’t have to go about boasting about them.  People will see it.   Exceptional qualities usually find their way to the surface.  

Proverbs 18:16 NKJV A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

People will see it. Let God promote you. You don't have to do it.

James 4:10 NIV Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Psalm 75:6‭-‬7 KJV For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Let’s read Prov. 29:23 NIV again “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor”.

Jesus put it this way.

Matthew 5:5 NIV Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The Greek word translated “meekness”, is praus. It was often used to express the idea of “self-control, which is one of the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

So the verse could also be translated, “Blessed are they who are entirely self-controlled for they shall inherit the earth.”

Conclusion

We have seen today that God detests, hates, the sin of pride and brings judgment and discipline to the person who lets pride become a lifestyle. On the other hand, God rewards the person who is genuinely humble. 

Proverbs 3:34 NIV He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

Matthew 23:12 NIV For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

And from our scripture reading today 

James 4:6 NIV But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

No proud person can be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit,  because a life filled with pride has no room for the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 8:12‭-‬17 NIV Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Those who are unwilling to be controlled by the Holy Spirit are controlled by selfish ambition, the flesh.  

That's why the Lord said that we must become like little children before we enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 18:3‭-‬4 NIV And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Children depend on their parents. As God’s children, we are dependent on him. Children don't spend a lot of time worrying about what they will eat, what they will wear, or where they will sleep. They simply assume that their needs will be met by their parents. Our heavenly Father is responsible for our care. 

Prayer

God, we are far too often influenced by what others think of us. We are always pretending to be either richer or smarter or nicer than we really are. Please prevent us from trying to attract attention. Don't let us gloat over praise on one hand or be discouraged by criticism on the other. Show us how to be humble of heart, like you.  In Jesus name amen

Sermon Audio

Upper Room Lessons on Relationships

This is the manuscript of the sermon in the "Lessons from the Upper Room sermon series preached at Christ Church Los Angeles.

Just imagine that we were able to slip into the upper room where Jesus and his disciples are spending their last moments before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. Jesus tells his disciples that they must not only understand the meaning of love, but they must love one another as he has loved them. He promises them a home forever with him. In their future hours of discouragement, they will remember his gracious promises. He wants them to comprehend the blessings, privileges, and responsibilities resulting from their personal relationship with him and how that relationship affects their relationships with each other and with the world.

The lessons that Jesus taught his disciples in the Upper Room are lessons for us today.

Text: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV).

Scripture:

John 15:1‭-‬27 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If 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. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Text: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV).

Introduction

Just imagine that we were able to slip into the upper room where Jesus and his disciples are spending their last moments before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. 

First, put yourself in Jesus’ place. Suppose you are about to leave your disciples and you must give them last-minute instructions on how to carry on your work. What would you say to them? Or suppose that you are one of those disciples and you are heartbroken at the thought of your Lord going away. You are confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed by all that is happening.

In the upper room, Jesus tells his disciples that they must not only understand the meaning of love, but they must love one another as he has loved them. 

John 13:34‭-‬35 NIV “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

He promises them a home forever with him. 

John 14:1‭-‬3 NIV “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

In the meantime, he will be with them every step of the journey. 

John 14:15‭-‬18 NIV “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

In their future hours of discouragement, they will remember his gracious promises. 

John 14:26 NIV But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

He wants them to complete the blessings, privileges, and responsibilities resulting from their personal relationship with him.

1. What was their relationship with Christ?  (John 15:1–11).

1. Jesus used many metaphors to illustrate himself, his work, and relationships. 

For example: He was the light, 

John 8:12 NIV When 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.”

He was the gate some translations say He was the door

John 10:7‭-‬10 NIV Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

He was the shepherd, the good shepherd

John 10:11‭-‬16 NIV “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

And He is the vine

John 15:1‭-‬5 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

2. When Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” 

He wanted his disciples to understand that no external qualifications can set a person right with God—only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can do that. 

Grape vines are common in Israel. Each year the vines are cut back to conserve the plant’s life and energy. Branches not bearing fruit are cut off. The main point Jesus wanted to get across was that his disciples had to draw strength from him and him alone. As a matter of fact He said, “Apart from me you can do nothing”. 

And then He said

John 15:7 NIV If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Jesus was saying that those who abide in Him and have His words abiding in them may ask what they want, and it will be done.  Here’s the point, if Christ’s words abide in you, you won’t ask any thing that conflicts with the mind of Christ. 

Philippians 2:5‭-‬8 NIV In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

3. What are some results of this vine-branch relationship?

You will bear much fruit (vv. 4–5).

John 15:4‭-‬5 NIV Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

What kind of fruit are we called to bear?  We’re called to bear the fruit of Christian character, Christian conduct, and Christian converts!  

First, God wants us to bear the fruit of Christian character.  

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

These are the qualities of Christian or Christlike character.   

We’re called to bear the fruit of Christian conduct.  

Colossians 1:9‭-‬11 NIV For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,

Christian character produces Christian conduct.  If we have the Spirit of Christ living in us then he’ll produce Christlike conduct through us.   

Finally, in addition to Christian character and Christian conduct, we should bear the fruit of Christian converts. In the New Testament, Christian converts are described as fruit. 

Romans 16:5 NKJV Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia (akia)  to Christ.

Romans 16:5 NIV Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

People should convert to the Christian faith in part because of the character and conduct they see in us.  Christian converts are like fruit harvested for God.  

Houston said something to me on Wednesday he said if you take 100 men only one would read the bible the other 99 will read you

According to Jesus, God wants us to bear fruit.  

The fruit of Christian character, Christian conduct, and Christian converts.     

As a result of this vine branch relationship, you receive prayer power 

John 15:7 NIV If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

If we remain in Jesus and His words remain in us, our prayers will align themselves with God’s will and God’s desires for us.

Because of this relationship your prayers will have power and the more fruitful your life will be. 

This vine branch relationship will glorify the Father

John 15:8 NIV This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

How will God be glorified on earth? The answer is simple. We are to be so successful in carrying out God’s purpose for our lives that others see Christ in our lives. 

For Christians, all of life’s relationships must grow out of our personal relationship with Jesus.

John 15:9‭-‬14 NIV “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

2. The relationship with Christ strongly affects our relationships with one another (John 15:12–17).

The common tie is Jesus.

1. Christ chose the disciples

John 15:16 NIV You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

They were and we are God’s people. 

1 Peter 2:9‭-‬10 NIV But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

2. Their relationship with one another in Christ was characterized by genuine love (vv. 12–13, 17). 

John 15:12‭-‬13 NIV My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:17 NIV This is my command: Love each other.

In the New Testament, individual Christians could not describe their lives without the term “one another.”, we need to do that today.

They were to bear “one another’s” burdens 

Galatians 6:2 NIV Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

They were to admonish “one another” with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs

Colossians 3:15‭-‬17 NIV Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

They were to comfort and encourage “one another”

Hebrews 3:13 NIV But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

They were to pray “one for another”

James 5:16 NIV Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

They were to love “one another” 

1 Peter 1:22‭-‬23 NIV Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

3. Because of their relationship with Christ there was a profound relationship with the world.  The same goes for us today (John 15:18–27).

Jesus knows what lies ahead for his disciples, and he warns them. Jesus tells his people what they can expect. 

The Gospel of Mark records just a sample:

Mark 13:9‭-‬13 NIV “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Jesus told his disciples that the world hated Him first and because of their relationship with Him the world would hate them too, but their hatred would be proof that they were not of the world.

John 15:18‭-‬21 NIV “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If 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. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Jesus knew that if people were permanently bonded together by him, he could trust them with his work until he came again.

1 Peter 4:12‭-‬19 NIV Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Conclusion

These past few weeks we have gone with the disciples to the upper room to learn the lessons Christ Jesus has for us to learn, the lessons of love, the lessons on heaven and eternal life, the lessons on Jesus' promises and the lessons on relationships with the world, each other and with Christ.   These relationships are nurtured when we acknowledge that without Jesus, we can do nothing because He is the vine, and we are the branches.  

There are many things that, as believers, we ought to be doing. But the one essential thing is to remain in Christ. If we remain in him, we will experience the life he gives to us. And as his life flows through us, we will be fruitful. All the other things we might be called on to do as believers depend on that.

Let’s Pray

Thank You Lord that Your finished work on the cross has made a personal relationship with You possible. You are our Maker and only You can truly satisfy. Thank You that we can seek You and that You can be found. Thank You that You minister to our spirits with Your Truth. Thank You that You are indeed our “Daddy” in heaven. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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