Peter Barnes | John 17:13-16
SERMON NOTES
JOY, FAITH AND HOLINESS IN A HOSTILE WORLD
Daniel 1:1-21; John 17:6-19
1. Joy in a hostile world.
– 17:13; see 15:11; 16:22.
– Ps.19:8; 144:15; Prov.16:20; Luke 2:10-11; Rom.14:17; Phil.4:4.
– at the age of eight, Fanny Crosby (who was blind) wrote:
Oh, what a happy soul am I!/ Although I cannot see,/ I am resolved that in this world/ Contented I shall be.
Later, in Blessed Assurance, she wrote: ‘Perfect submission, all is at rest,/ I in my Saviour am happy and blest.’
2. Faithfulness to Christ’s word in a hostile world.
– 17:14a; Luke 6:26.
– The world increasingly thinks it has a right not to be offended, which means it has a right to shut down the gospel.
3. A holy presence in a hostile world.
– 17:14b-16; note 1 Cor.5:9-12.
– neither ‘Woodbine Willie’ nor Simeon Stylites
– John Newton says that the Christian in the world is like a man transacting business in the rain – he finishes and moves on quickly. But it is not escapism (Num.11:15; 1 Kings 19:4; Jonah 4:3, 8). David’s cry is not meant for all of life – Ps.55:6. William Wilberforce: ‘Oh may I walk softly, deeply feeling my own unworthiness, repenting in dust and ashes; guarding against self-deception, lest I lose the precious opportunities of communion with God.’