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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Daily devotions with Pastor John. I'm john

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Speaker 1: Stongey and today's devotion is inspired by John Chapter fifteen,

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Speaker 1: Verses eighteen and nineteen, which says, if the world hates you,

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Speaker 1: know that it has hated me before it hated you.

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Speaker 1: If you were of the world, the world would love

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Speaker 1: you as its own. But because you are not of

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Speaker 1: the world, but I chose you out of the world.

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Speaker 1: Therefore the world hates you. Jesus uses the words love

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Speaker 1: and hate in this passage in a much stronger sense

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Speaker 1: than we may initially realize. He cautions us that the

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Speaker 1: world will at times express irrational hatred for his followers,

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Speaker 1: just as it has for him. Jesus came in this

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Speaker 1: world to teach model, suffer for, die for, and redeem

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Speaker 1: this world. But because his holiness and the specifics of

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Speaker 1: his teaching challenge the preferences of the human heart, he

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Speaker 1: is irrationally hated by many in this world, and those

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Speaker 1: who bear his name and submit their lives to his

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Speaker 1: lordship can expect to be irrationally hated as well, even

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Speaker 1: when they're trying to serve others for the greater good.

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Speaker 1: Jesus also cautions his followers that if we're serious about

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Speaker 1: following him, we may experience outright persecution. If the good

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Speaker 1: you're doing in this world is an attempt to be

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Speaker 1: loved by this world, you're going to be disappointed and

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Speaker 1: possibly heartbroken. But if you recognize that the Lord sees

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Speaker 1: you and loves you, you'll find it easier to align

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Speaker 1: your expectations with what Christ has graciously made known. Let's pray. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you

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Speaker 1: for the privilege that it is to be able to

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Speaker 1: look at this portion of scripture from the Gospel of

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Speaker 1: John today. And Lord, we know that in this world

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Speaker 1: there are those who irrationally hate you. You came to

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Speaker 1: this earth to redeem humanity and to restore this fallen creation,

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Speaker 1: But those who came to rescue have rejected you, at

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Speaker 1: least many have. And you warn us that if we

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Speaker 1: seek to be your followers, if we seek to truly

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Speaker 1: follow you in all aspects of life, we're going to

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Speaker 1: receive the same kind of treatment you received. Those who

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Speaker 1: hate you will hate us. Those who sought to harm.

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Speaker 1: You might also seek to harm us, and you warn

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Speaker 1: us about that in this passage so that we're not surprised.

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Speaker 1: But at times I don't think we think about this

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Speaker 1: very much. It seems that in many instances, we go

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Speaker 1: through life in this world wanting to be loved by

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Speaker 1: this world, even expecting that this world would love us,

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Speaker 1: or at least appreciate us. But Lord, even if this

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Speaker 1: world lets us down, which it certainly will, we pray

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Speaker 1: that you would help us to find our greatest hope

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Speaker 1: in you. Our hope is not in the praise of

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Speaker 1: our peers. Our hope is anchored in you, and you're

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Speaker 1: the one we want to glorify, and it's your approval

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Speaker 1: that we need to seek. Lord. We're grateful for the

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Speaker 1: fact that you are pleased by our faith, and we

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Speaker 1: have the privilege to walk by faith and live out

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Speaker 1: that faith in our day to day lives. But again,

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Speaker 1: we pray that our expectations would be in line with

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Speaker 1: what you've revealed in this portion of your word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank you for telling us about it ahead of time.

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Speaker 1: We're grateful for your presence with us, and likewise, we're

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Speaker 1: grateful for your protection, and we commit ourselves to your

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Speaker 1: care today and pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,