Lefatše le hloile Bakreste hobane e se ba lefatše, ho boletse Jesu ho Johanne 15:18-19 ka Bibeleng. Bakreste ba bangata ba ke ke ba amohela ’nete ena ’me ba etsa sohle seo ba ka se khonang ho etsa hore lefatše le ba rate. Sometimes it’s too embarrassing to watch how far Christians go and eventually say or do things that damage the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Only because these Christians want to be liked and accepted by the world and be friends with the world.
Compromising with the world
Many Christians compromise with the world and think they are some big shot. While in reality these Christians succumbed by the pressure of the world.
They maybe liked and accepted by the world, but in God’s eyes, they are shameful. Because they were not able to stand on the Word (BIBELE).
They didn’t stay faithful to God and obedient to His will. Sebakeng seo, bona denied Jesus Christ by watering down the gospel and compromising with the world.
All because they were not prepared to die to ‘self’ and ba tela bophelo ba bona LE HO LETSA Jesu.
Everyone that believes has laid down his life
But if you decide to follow Jesus, you crucify your flesh (Mattheu 16:24, Tšoaea 8:34, Luka 9:23). Ka tsoalo e ncha ho Kreste (Lefu la Nama le Tsoho ea Moea Ho Bafung), you have become a new creation in the spiritual realm.
Ha o sa le mora wa diabolosi (sena se sebetsa ho banna le basali) that has the spirit of the world (Moea oa antikreste). Ka hona, you don’t belong to the devil and the world anymore.
Empa ho feta the rebirth, o fetohile mora wa Modimo (e motona le e motshehadi).
The Holy Spirit dwells in you and you belong to God and His Kingdom.
What happened in the spiritual realm becomes visible in the natural realm. Ka hona, ho tla ba le phetoho bophelong ba hau.
If you won’t experience a change in your life, you might ask yourself if you are truly tsoaloa hape and have become a new creation and if the Holy Spirit dwells in you.
Ha o fetoha mora wa Modimo, ha o sa le wa lefatshe. Ka hona, the world no longer welcomes and receives you. Except if you compromise and stay carnal and keep living the life you’ve always lived.
If you live like the world and say and do the same things as the world, then it shows that you are not born again and don’t walk after the Spirit. Since the flesh is still alive and has the highest authority in your life.
The Word of God is quick and powerful
Hobane lentsoe la Molimo le phela, le matla, mme e bohale ho feta sabole efe kapa efe e leoditsweng ka nqa tse pedi, ho phunya le ho isa ho arola moea le moea, le ya manonyeletso le moko, mme le lemoha menahano le mehopolo ya pelo. Hape ha ho sebopuwa se sa bonahaleng mahlong a Hae: empa tsohle di hlobotse, di tutubolohile mahlong a eo re nang le taba le yena (Baheberu 4:12-13)
Ha u tsoaloa hape, it’s crucial to nchafatsa kelello ea hao Ka Lentsoe la Molimo. Because when you don’t renew your mind with the Word of God, you shall keep your carnal mind and keep walking after the flesh and say and do what the world says and do.
If you don’t read and study the Bible daily, you shall not get to know the Father and His will. As long as you stay ignorant concerning God’s will, you shall live according to your will and what you think is right and wrong.
You shall live as you lived before and not tlosa monnamoholo eseng joalo aparang motho e motjha.
Therefore it’s necessary to read and study your Bible daily and renew your mind. Moya o Halalelang, Who dwells in you shall help, guide and teach you.
The Holy Spirit teaches you in the Word
Ha u ne u le popo ya kgale you maybe didn’t understand the Bible. The reason why you didn’t understand the Bible is that your spirit was dead and therefore your mind was darkened and couldn’t understand the spiritual things of God.
Empa ha o ne o fetoha sebopuwa se setjha, your spirit was raised from the dead and by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you received the Holy Spirit and therefore you shall be able to understand the spiritual things of God and His Kingdom.
Moya o Halalelang o tseba botebo ba Modimo, which are hidden in His Word.
By studying the Word of God, you shall not only get to know Jesus, but you shall also get to know God and His will. You shall get to know Menahano ea hae le Litsela tsa hae.
Nako tsohle, when you find out a truth in the Word of God that contradicts your former carnal mind and what the world says, you shall have to make a choice, to believe and obey the Word of God and walk in faith after the Spirit or to believe and obey the words of the world and your carnal mind and what your senses tell you and walk after the flesh.
You can only walk in faith if you believe that the words of God are the truth and obey them and do the words of God in your life.
When you are born again and start walking after the Word and the Spirit and therefore walk in faith, then one of the consequences will be that you won’t be so loved anymore, but rather be hated by those, Ke tsa lefatše, live in sin and are not willing to repent.
The Word divides soulish people and spiritual people
Because just like the Word divides spirit and soul, so shall the Word also divide soulish people, who walk after the flesh and spiritual people, ba tsamayang ka Moya.
You shall not be received and welcomed everywhere you go. Not even among your fellow brothers and sisters, who are worldly-minded. Hantle, if you say what they want to hear and don’t say anything that might offend them and as long as you do what they expect of you, then there won’t be any problems.
But as soon as you speak the truth and confront them with the truth of the Word, instead of giving them your own opinion, that derives from your flesh; your carnal mind and your carnal wisdom, tsebo, maikutlo, le maikutlo, then you shall experience resistance.
The world hated Jesus
Jesus is our Lord and if He was hated and persecuted by the world and was banned by His people from the temple, Barutuwa ba hae, who are His followers, shall experience the same thing. Jesus spoke about it and said, tseo, who love Him and obey Litaelo tsa hae, shall be hated and even persecuted.
And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Mat 10:22, Mar 13:13, Luka 21:17)
Joale ba tla nehelana ka lōna hore le hlorisoe, mme ba tla o bolaya: mme le tla hlouwa ke ditjhaba tsohle ka baka la lebitso la ka. Ke moo ba bangata ba tla kgoptjwa, mme ba tla ekana, mme ba tla hloyana (Mattheu 24:9-10)
Ke lehlohonolo, Ha batho ba tla u hloea, mme ha ba tla u arohanya le k'hamphani ea bona, 'me e tla u nyelisa, 'me a leleka lebitso la hau e le bobe, bakeng sa mora oa motho oa motho. Thabang ka letsatsi leo, 'me u tlole thabo: bakeng sa, bona, moputso oa hau o moholo leholimong: etsoe bo-ntata bona ho baprofeta (Luka 6:22)
Ha lefatshe le le hloile, le a tseba hobane e Ntlhoile pele ho lona. Haeba le ne le e-ba le lefatše, Lefatše le ka rata ea hae: Empa ha e sa le lefatše, Empa ke u khethile lefatšeng, ka hona lefatše le u hloile. Hopola lentsoe leo ke le boleletseng lona, Mohlanka ha a moholo ho morena oa hae. Haeba ba ntlhobelletse, Le bona ba tla u hlorisa; Haeba ba bolokile polelo ea ka, Ba tla boloka le uena hape. Empa tsena tsohle ba tla le etsa tsona ka baka la Lebitso la Ka, hobane ha ba tsebe Ea Nthomileng (Johanne 15:18-21)
Hoja ke sa tla, ka bua le bona, ba ne ba se na sebe: empa jwale, ha ba na boitshwarelo bakeng sa sebe sa bona. Ya ntlhoileng o hloile le Ntate. Hojane ke se ke ka etsa hara bona mesebetsi eo ho seng motho e mong ya e entseng, ba ne ba se na sebe: empa jwale ba bone, mme ba hloile Nna le Ntate. Empa sena sea etsahala, e le hore ho tle ho etsahale lentswe le ngodilweng molaong wa bona, Ba Ntlhoile ntle le lebaka (Johanne 15:22-25)
I have given them thy word; mme lefatshe le ba hloile, hobane hase ba lefatshe, jwalokaha le nna ke se wa lefatshe (Johanne 17:14)
Why the world hates Jesus?
Lefatshe le ke ke la o hloya; empa Nna e ntlhoile, hobane ke pakela yona, hore mesebetsi ya teng e mebe (Johanne 7:7)
Jesus gave us the reason, why the world hated Him. Jesus testified that the works of the world were evil, which means that He confronted the people, eo e neng e le tsa lefatshe, with their sin. When Jesus said these words to His disciples, His disciples were still the old creation. They were still carnal and belonged to the unfaithful generation that belongs to the world. But when they were born again and received the Holy Spirit, they were also hated and persecuted by the world. Because they testified that the works of the world were evil.
When the Holy Spirit dwells in you and you walk in obedience to God after the Word in righteousness, the Holy Spirit will reprove the world a.o. tsa sebe.
Ka hona, you shouldn’t marvel and be surprised when people, whom you’ve never met and with whom you have never spoken with, hate you for no reason.
That’s because the one, ya ahileng ho tsona, hates the One, Ea dutseng ho wena.
Diabolosi, who lives in them hates Jesus Christ, Who lives in you. Jesu o boletse, that you shall be hated because of Lebitso la Hae.
Ka lebaka la 'nete, that you have died in Christ, you have laid down your own life and therefore it’s no longer you that lives, but through the resurrection of your spirit from the dead and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in you. When Christ lives in you, you shall speak and do His words and walk in the will of God.
Jesus spoke the words of His Father and the world wouldn’t receive His words. Joalo ka Selekaneng sa Khale, when the prophets spoke the truth of God and were hated, Hlorisoa, imprisoned and sometimes even killed.
Ka hona, tseo, who belong to Jesus and speak His words, which are the same words as the Father, shall be hated by the world.
Do you love God or do you love yourself?
As long as you don’t love God with all your heart, kelello, soul and strength and haven’t laid down your flesh, 'me u lule u tsamaea kamora nama, you care what other people think of you because it affects you. Ka hona, you shall eventually succumb and compromise with the world.
But when you Rata Molimo ka pelo eohle ea hau, kelello, soul and strength and have laid down your flesh and walk after the Spirit, then it won’t affect you, because your flesh is dead. You are not surprised that the world hates you because Jesus warned you (Bala hape: Bala litšenyehelo).
Leha ho le joalo, you will not let that stop you to speak the truth of God and keep preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. You shall not stop to preach and establish God’s Kingdom on this earth.
Ho fapana le moo! You shall continue and keep walking after the Word and the Spirit and therefore you shall keep walking in the truth and the love of God.
You shall not compromise with the world. You shall not try so hard to be liked and to be accepted by the world. But you shall stay loyal to Jesus and stand on the Word and not deviate from the words of God.
As long as you keep walking the Spirit and the Word and therefore do the commandments of God, eo hape e leng Litaelo tsa Jesu, you prove that you love God with all your heart, kelello, moea le matla.
You show that your love for God comes first in your life, Mme ka lebaka leo, you keep walking in obedience to Him.
You know the reason, why the people, Ke tsa lefatše, ke u hloile, but you shall not be moved by that. You shall neither become mad or angry because you don’t walk after the flesh and therefore you are not led by your feelings and emotions. Sebakeng seo, you shall be moved with Qenehelo on them.
The world hates Christians, who follow and do the Word
Marvel not, banabeso, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren (1 Johanne 3:13-14)
The hearers of the Word shall not be hated, since they are no threat to the kingdom of darkness. Only the followers and doers of the Word, which means that you believe every word of God and do the words of God, shall be hated by the world, joalo ka Jesu.
Hobaneng? Because you testify by doing the truth and righteous works, that the works of the world are evil.
Look at Cain and Abel. Abel wasn’t killed by Cain because they had a disagreement or a fight. But Abel was killed because his works were righteous. The righteous works of Abel testified that the works of Cain were evil (Gen 21:41, 1 Jo 3:12)
This also happened with Jesus. Jesus walked in the truth and did righteous works. That’s why He was hated by the world. Because by doing righteous works Jesus testified that the works of the world were evil.
The Light of the world
Jesus was the Light of the world and through Him, the evil works, which were hidden in darkness were brought into the light.
Bara ba diabolosi, who were the workers of iniquity and belonged to the world, hated the Light and therefore they did everything they could to get rid of Jesus and eliminate the Light.
Ya dumelang ho Yena ha a ahlolwe: empa ya sa dumeleng o se a ahlotswe, hobane ha a ka a dumela Lebitso la Mora ya tswetsweng a nnotshi wa Modimo. Mme hona ke tsuo, lesedi leo le tlile lefatsheng, mme batho ba ratile lefifi ho ena le lesedi, hobane diketso tsa bona di ne di le mpe. Hobane e mong le e mong ya etsang bobe, o hloile lesedi, leha e le ho tla leseding, esere mesebetsi ya hae e ka kgalemelwa. Empa ya etsang nnete o tla leseding, hore diketso tsa hae di bonahatswe, hore di entswe ho Modimo (Johanne 3:18-21)
And just like Abel, baporofeta, Jesus and the apostles, this is still the case. When Jesus Christ dwells in you and you walk after the will of Jesus and do what He has commanded you to do and walk in righteousness in the truth and the light, then the world shall hate you. Because your righteous works testify that the works fo the world (sebe) li khopo.
Jesus knew this and foretold His disciples. His disciples knew this and foretold their disciples. And we, as His disciples should know this and inform our disciples, so that the truth is revealed and the disciples will know what to expect and become spiritually resilient and are able to stand on the Word and don’t hana Jesu Kreste. Because whosoever shall deny Jesus, him/her will Jesus also deny before the Father (Mattheu 10:33, 2 Timothea 2:12)
‘E be letsoai la lefatše’
