Sermon Notes + 8.11.2024
SERMON NOTES
August 11, 2024
They Are Not of the World
John 17:14-16
Dr. Tony Chute, Lead Pastor
Overview: As Jesus prepares to leave this world and return to the Father, He prays on behalf of His disciples, who will remain in the world. The disciples are distinguished from the world by their devotion to Jesus and commitment to His Word. As such, the disciples will experience hostility from the world, similar to what Jesus faced because neither He nor they are of the world. Despite the dangers they face, Jesus does not pray for the Father to take them out of the world; instead, He prays for the Father to keep the disciples from the evil one. This prayer from Jesus challenges us to live for Him without despising the good things in the world while at the same time not compromising with the world.
01. God created a good world that is now a fallen world, which means there is much for everyone to enjoy and much for everyone to avoid.
02. God has left the church in this good but fallen world in order for us to engage the world while maintaining a separate identity from the world.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & DISCOVERY
1. How does the word “world” function in this text? At what point in this passage does “world” refer to planet Earth? At what points in this passage does “world” refer to people who stand opposed to the things of God? How do these distinctions highlight the fact that God created a good world that has fallen?
2. Since Jesus became human through the incarnation, what does He mean by saying, “I am not of the world”? In what ways did Jesus engage the world, namely the people in the world? In what ways did Jesus confront the world, namely the mindset of the world that run contrary to the Bible? How is the world as a whole better because Jesus entered this world as a human being?
3. Do you agree with the statement that disciples are those who are distinguished from the world by their devotion to Jesus and commitment to His Word? What other characteristics set them apart? How is your devotion to Jesus evident to the world around you? How is your devotion to His Word evident to the world around you? What reactions from the world do you encounter because of your devotion to Jesus and to His Word?
4. Why did the world hate Jesus and His ministry? What did He say, do, or represent that runs counter to humanity’s way of thinking apart from God? How did Jesus respond to the world’s hatred of Him? In what ways should we respond to the world’s hatred and rejection of us today?
5. What traces of God’s goodness and grace are still evident in a fallen world? How can we live in the world without being of the world? How can we point people to God’s goodness and grace, even in a fallen world?
For Further Reading: John Stott, The Contemporary Christian (IVP, 1992)