But because ye are not of the world

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Good morning dear friends, I am excited for this afternoon as my Pastor and I will be heading to my brothers church to hear Pastor Black from east Tennessee preach revival. My brothers church is about 2 hrs south of me and I really look forward to the fellowship of all these preachers and the saints that are in Carbon Hill, AL. As I was studying through the book of John, I started thinking about some of my co-workers who would question me on my desire why I do the things that I do for the Lord and the sacrifices that I make. It is so simply put in the above verse. Ye are not of the world. There are three Greek words for the word world, they are:

• kosmos as spoken in the book of Genesis, that is the physical created world
• oikoumenē as used in Luke 2:1, that is speaking of a governmental system (at that time the Roman Empire)
• Ion as used in Romans 12:1, that is speaking of this present age

Friend if you are born again, the Bible says to marvel not that the world in all three senses above would hate you. Understand that you have been bought with a price by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and you are no longer dead unto sin, but alive in Christ. This can be explained by the following.

1. You have been born again, not of the physical but of the spiritual. we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We are no longer to walk according to the physical things that would bring us into the bondage of sin. You see the lost people who are not born again hate you becasue you don't follow after these things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. You shouldn't be swayed by the circumstances in life to give up on God. The Bible says greater is He that is in you than he that is in this world!
2. The worlds governmental system should not sway your love for the Lord Jesus Christ and God. Though the Bible says to render unto ceaser what is ceaser's, however there is one thing that this world should not have, and that is your heart for God. This worlds government hates you as a Christian becasue it prides itself on being the answer to all things through programs, knowledge, and position. Dear friend don't be fooled, there is coming a day when this worlds governments will be thrown down and the wickedness that they bring with it shall be destroyed and then the perfect reign of Jesus Christ will be as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now friend don't let me discourage you to pray for those in government, that their hearts would be given over to God and they would seek Him for any decisions before they are made. We are to be praying for all those in power over us that they would honor God and His Word.
3. This present age hates us as Christians becasue we stand upon the Word of God. We are different becasue we eschew evil and love our Lord. We as Christians should not be all caught up in the latest fashion trends, the latest get rich quick schemes, the latest raves. No we are to be different to show this present age that all this is worthless in sight of the Lord. All the materialistic things that this present age says you must have will lead you into bondage, if you would just lean unto the Lord Jesus Christ, He will provide you with everything you need. This present age hates us as Christians becasue we are living proof that what they do is evil, and with that evil there is payment for. This makes them think about thier ungodliness and they don't want to, however it is our duty to show them the love of God, and point them to Jesus Christ by our chaste conversation.

Friend I said all this because as the Lord was explaining to His disciples while He was physically on the earth, He left this written in His Word that we might know and understand why we are treated differently. Friend if you find yourself not being treated differently because of the places that you don't go, or the things that you don't then I will encourge you to stop where you are at in life and examine why you do the things that you do. Are they for the world, or are they to honor God?