Be My Witnesses John 15:18–27 John 17:3 “This is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” This is the progression of John 15: Abide in Christ → Love one another → Bear witness to the world. The world will treat Jesus’ as it treated Jesus. John 15:18–19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 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. 20 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. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world: Voice of the Martyrs: http://www.persecution.com/ What does opposition to Christ and His disciples look like in the local American church? With greater revelation comes greater and greater . John 15:22-25 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. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 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. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” The Lord commands spirit-empowered , even during persecution. John 15:26-27 “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. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. John 16:1–4 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, How does abiding with Christ provide you with the opportunity to live in a way that stands out in the world? Has discomfort or fear kept you from speaking openly to others about Jesus? If so, what would it look like to trust the Holy Spirit and respond differently the next time God gives you the opportunity? Do you truly believe the gospel is good news for you and the people around you—and who in your life may need to hear it from you?