Can The World Hate Us, Too?

As John continues his gospel, he records an interesting comment/moment in Jesus's life. The festival of Tabernacles (or Booths) was at hand and Jesus does not go with His brothers. But the reasoning for why he doesn't leave with them for Judea is interesting.

This is Jesus' response to his brother’s invitation:

6 "My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it-- that its works are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come."

 What I want to focus on is not really why Jesus did not go, although this does bring huge implications to theology. Rather, I want to focus on this dynamic between Jesus (God), people, and the world. I think it is interesting that Jesus says "the world cannot hate you (us humans)." 

As I wrestled through this verse, two questions came to my mind:

1. Does this statement by Jesus make sense?

2. What are we to do about it?

DOES THIS STATEMENT MAKE SENSE?

The first thing I want to address is that I believe this is a correct statement. The world not hating us makes sense as we are of and from the world! God literally created Man from dust (Gen. 2:7), which is the world. We also have desires that are worldly that are innate in us (Gal. 5:19-21; Col. 3:5-10). This makes the world comfortable with us and us with the world. I believe that this is what Jesus is referring to as the world not being able to hate us. Our desires and comforts are the same. As long as our desires coincide with the world, conflict does not arise and hate is not produced.

It would then be logical to wonder why the world hates Jesus? It would make sense to conclude that if the world cannot hate us because we are like the world, then the world must hate Jesus because He is not like it. I believe this is why Jesus is hated and rejected from the world. 

We, as humans, do not like the uncomfortable. We do what we can to get rid of pain, we chase after sinful pleasures, we stay in close groups that have the same tendencies as us, and we enjoy the comforts of the couch over the turmoil of working the field. When we get close to Jesus, He makes us uncomfortable because (1) we realize how different He is than us and (2) He shows us our spiritual deficiencies and frailty as humans. 

Jesus is hated by the world because He was not like it. Where we do what we can to avoid pain, Jesus pursued death on the cross for the well being of another. Where we chase after sinful pleasures, Jesus was tempted in every way that we were and yet remained without sin. Where we stay in close groups that have the same tendencies as us, Jesus steps beyond the borders of comfort in order to offer salvation to all people. Where we often choose slothfulness, Jesus perfectly carried out the will of the Father all throughout his life. 

Not only does the world hate Jesus because He is not like it, but it also hates Jesus because He testifies against it, “that it’s works are evil.” When sin is revealed there are two options to take: hide and remove yourself from the exposure, or confess and seek reconciliation. 

Our natural default as humans is the former, not the latter. When Adam and Eve first realized their sin they covered and hid (Gen. 3:7-8). We can see this in our own lives as our weaknesses and sins are exposed, we get uncomfortable, feel attacked, and sometimes feel pain. This is what Jesus does to our sin. He exposes evil, condemns it, and brings to light the dependency we have regardless of how independent we think we are. It is therefore logical to conclude that Jesus is to be hated if he is exposing the sin of the world.

 WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

So then what do we do about this conundrum? Well, the good news is that we really don’t do anything. Rather, God does. Jesus not only exposes our sin, but He also offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:10) and, through faith, reconciles us to God (Rom. 5:9-10). This takes us out of hiding and running and transforms (2 Cor. 3:18) us to a new creation that loves the light and God's company (2 Cor. 4:2, 6). When we have faith in this truth we no longer have the world alive inside us (Rom. 6:11) but rather have the Spirit of God alive in us (Gal. 2:20; 3:14).

If these truths stand then we have another question to answer. If God now lives in us, then won't we be hated, too? Scripture answers this question for us very easily. In Luke 21:17 Jesus says "you will be hated by everyone because of my name." Once you allow Jesus to be Lord of your life, and the Holy Spirit indwells your being, the believer will see a bigger gap and separation from themselves and the world. Just as Jesus was abandon by His disciples once He switched from teaching the physical to teaching about the spiritual (Jn. 6:60-66), so will the Christian receive this kind of hate.

Conclusion

It is clear from scripture that we, as physical human beings made from dust, are worldly. We are born into sin and have an innate desire to follow our passions and lusts. This brings us (and the world) comfort, but ultimately leads to destruction. 

But just as we have an innate desire for sin, we have a desire for a relationship with God. God made us in His image and for His purposes wanting us to be relationally involved with Him forever. God sent Jesus down to earth to reconcile our division from God. Jesus does this by being of the Spirit. He is Both Spirit (Son of God) and flesh (having a physical mother). He is able to show humans our true identity, hitting the spiritual issues that we try to hide, revealing our sinful identities. This makes us uncomfortable and is intended to push us closer to Him rather than farther away. 

The world rejects Christ and when He is in us, we join in that rejection of/from the world. The world might hate us, but it has hated Christ first. When we encounter such hatred, may we celebrate the fact that we are that much more mirroring Christ!

Why We Don’t Pass an Offering Plate

If you come to Harbor Community Church you may notice something a little different from many other churches, we don’t pass around an offering plate. Depending on your previous church experience, this may be refreshing or downright strange. 

In many churches there is a “time of offering,” during which, volunteers pass a plate or basket down each aisle so that every person in attendance has an opportunity to drop in whatever he or she may have brought to give that week. In America we often give through cash or checks, but in some parts of the world the “offering plates” will be filled with eggs, mangos, avocados, or whatever the members can afford. Faithful giving is never measured by how many zeros are in one’s contribution. On the contrary, it is evaluated by one’s willingness to generously give according to what one has. Thus, we praise God for the fruit (pun intended) that is collected and used for God’s glory! 

Joy Boxes 

Here at Harbor Community Church, our goal is to be a people who joyfully and selflessly give, not for the praise of man, but for the glory of God and the good of His people. Our conviction is that we can best accomplish this through “Joy Boxes.”

Giving online at hccmobile.org/give is always an option, but each Sunday we will also have a black box located at each exit of the worship center called a “Joy Box.” Anyone can walk up and drop money in it at any time before, during, or after the service. 

 …an opportunity to Give in Secret

One major reason why we’ve chosen to give through this format is Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:1-4. Here Jesus says to “beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.” Rather, “when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 

Giving publicly, to be seen and praised by others, has a temporary reward that will fade. Our desire is not only to bless the needy. It is also our hope that everyone who gives will receive the eternal, lasting, joy from the Father that is far better than money or momentary praise from man. We aim to be a congregation that delights in giving in secret.

 …An opportunity to give cheerfully 

Giving is an act of worship. We believe and teach that the giving of our resources is a part of being a follower of Christ. But, we never want to guilt or persuade people to give financially out of a feeling of duty or to earn the praise of man.

2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 

We don’t want our congregation to begrudgingly give because everyone around them is putting money into an offering plate. Rather, we want our people to give cheerfully because they have met the Giver of all things. Jesus went to the cross and gave his life to offer the greatest treasure of all, life, for all who follow after him. We give generously and sacrificially to support the work of spreading that good news. Joy boxes allow our congregation to cheerfully give as we have decided in our hearts.

Why Give at All? 

Here at Harbor, we have no aspirations of getting rich off the giving of our members. We are not looking to even build up the name of our church. Rather, our main goal is to build the kingdom of God according to the measure that God entrusts us. 

We acknowledge that God owns all things and we trust him to provide whatever is needed to do his work, starting in Mobile and extending to the ends of the earth. The gospel is truly good news and the church is God’s primary vessel to take that message to the world. Thus, every penny that is given to our local church will be spent to accomplish that goal. We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ and we try our very best to use every resource we have to accomplish that task.  

Where the Money Goes 

As elders, we take our responsibility as stewards very serious. I write this as a lay elder who does not receive any financial benefit from the church at all. We will keep things pretty lean intentionally so that we can devote as many dollars as possible to the work of God. As a church plant we are still learning what this will look like, but we want all of our resources to reinforce our core pillars of biblical teaching, authentic community, and family discipleship. For example, we support our teaching pastor financially so that he can devote time to studying scripture, prayer, and equipping the church. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” We are also actively looking for ways to use our resources to promote the mission of God both locally and around the world.  

Giving for the Glory of God 

We also believe that all giving doesn’t have to be directly to the church. Certainly the church should be worthy of our investment! But, as followers of Christ, we must guard against the mindset that we give to the church so that the pastor can do the work. On the contrary, as seen in Ephesians 4:10-14, the job of church leaders is to equip the body to carry out the “work of the ministry.” Therefore, our giving should be intertwined with our personal discipleship as we proclaim the gospel to the world. Maybe that means bringing meals to new parents, providing lodging for a homeless family, helping pay medical bills for a suffering sister in Christ, or practicing hospitality by inviting neighbors into our homes. We should always be looking for ways to use all of our resources for God’s glory and the good of others. 

Success will never be measured by the size of our budget; success will be determined by our obedience to Christ.    

The Fear of Church Planting

The old Nickelodeon TV show, Are You Afraid of the Dark? did great damage to my confidence as a young boy. If I wasn’t afraid of the dark before watching this horror fantasy TV show that aired in the late 90’s, I most certainly was after.

I would often lay in bed wondering if there was a monster under my bed, waiting to attack and devour my ankles. In fear, I would lay there counting to three, trying to hype myself up to make a dash for the door. “I…2… Nope… Ok, here I go… 1… 2… 3…  No, I can’t do it…” Over and over again, I would try to bring myself to get out of bed, yet an irrational fear of the boogie man crippled me.

I’ve found that the thought of church planting isn’t much different. The thought of starting a new church is terrifying. It’s a challenging endeavor that is laced with uncertainty. It’s stepping foot into the unknown, wondering if rejection or failure will grab and devour us to pieces. 

If church planting is so terrifying, then why forsake the comforts of an already existing church for the sake of the unknown? How do we know that starting Harbor Community Church will be a fruitful endeavor? How do we know that rejection or failure won’t swallow us up?

Well, it’s in the face of fear, that we must lean on God’s word, trusting that he is all-powerful and good. 

In Matthew 28, we see Jesus’ disciples encounter him for the first time since his resurrection. And when they saw him they worshiped him, yet some doubted. In response, Jesus doesn’t say, “Thank you, thank you!” soaking up the glory. Rather, he comforts his disciples and then calls them to action by commanding them to go and make disciples. 

He says,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Here, Jesus commands his disciples to go and do what he has done for them. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them all that I have commanded you. Disciples of Jesus are called to make more disciples of Jesus.

As a child, it would have been silly for me to spend my entire life laying in the comfort of my bed. At some point, I had to face my fear and let my feet touch the ground. In the same way, we as Christians are not called to sit in the comforts of our church building. At some point, we must face our fear and go. 

Over the past few years, in preparation for the starting of Harbor Community Church, I’ve jotted down five reasons why I would not want to be involved in a church plant. They are as follows:

• I’m comfortable where I am.

• I’m afraid of rejection.

• I’m afraid of failure.

• I’m afraid this will be too hard.

• I’m afraid of commitment.

In some regards, these fears are justifiable. There’s nothing in the Bible that guarantees the success of Harbor Community Church. There are many church bodies that fail or die out each year, and we could be one of those. Rejection, failure, and difficulty are all a real possibility. In fact, they’re highly probable. I (we) will encounter rejection. I (we) will fail. I (we) will encounter difficulties. Church planting is a commitment to abandon comfort, which is terrifying. 

It’s in the face of these fears that I (we) must constantly lean on the great commission as comfort. But, if you’re task oriented like me, then you might have missed how the great commission is comforting. For a long time, I only viewed the great commission as a command that I must follow, which is accurate and true. Go means go. We’re not called to idleness, we’re called to action. There is no way around that. Whether we pursue church planting or not, we must “go and make disciples.” The great commission is 100% a call to action.

If we’re not careful, however, we will miss the beauty of this commissioning. Jesus is not calling his disciples to go alone. This command to make disciples is wedged between two beautiful statements that should offer us great comfort.

First, before we ever see a command to go, we see a declaration that,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [Jesus].”

The call to make disciples is a response to the reality that Jesus possesses all authority. Therefore, we go and make disciples confidently because Jesus is all-powerful. He lays not in a grave, but he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Fear not, disciples of Jesus, we’ve been commissioned to make disciples by the sovereign ruler over all. 

But, not only that, this all-powerful, sovereign ruler over all isn’t calling us to “go” while watching from afar. He has commissioned us to go and he has promised to help. He follows his command with a promise to be with us always.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Fear is diminished when we understand that we are not alone. As a child, the fear of the boogie man washed away the moment that one of my parents walked in the room. In the same way, when we are faced with fear concerning obedience to the great commission, we must strive to rest in Jesus’ promise to be with us always, until the end of the age. 

Church planting is a commitment to abandon the fleeting comforts of this world for a greater comfort in Jesus. The pursuit of discipleship is not something we do alone. We get the honor of making disciples of Jesus with Jesus. The more we are obedient to the great commission, the deeper our intimacy with Jesus should grow.

Even though the great commission doesn’t guarantee Harbor Community Church success, the great commission attacks and diminishes our greatest fears and offers us immense comfort.

• Are you afraid to leave what’s comfortable? Take heart, Jesus will be with you!

• Are you afraid of rejection? Take heart, Jesus will be with you!

• Are you afraid of failure? Take heart, Jesus will be with you!

• Are you afraid of difficulty? Take heart, Jesus will be with you!

• Are you afraid of commitment? Take heart, Jesus will be with you!

May we never allow fear to withhold us from obedience to the great commission through church planting.  May we “go and make disciples!”