Joy over Sorrow
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If you have your bibles please open them up to John 16. And pray with me.
I have titled the message this morning, “Joy over Sorrow.” For this sermon today its important to remember where the disciples are at. This is in the final teaching of Jesus ministry, before he goes to the garden to be betrayed, and the words in the text today must reign in the hearts of the disciples because they themselves have sorrow. Something we touched on recently, but this sorrow is not going to remain for them. Its going to over-showed by something greater. Joy!!! despite the present circumstances the disciples are in, and the situation that Jesus is about to face, and even what they will face after Joy for the believer can reign over sorrow, and what I want you to see as the Main Idea today is this.. Because of Jesus, joy reigns over sorrow.”
Listen to what the Word of God has for us today. Starting in verse 16..
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
1st point today I want you to write down is this…
You can have joy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus 16-22
You can have joy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus 16-22
So we see in this text there is this discussion that seems to be confusing to the disciples. Jesus says a little while you will see me no longer, and again in a little while you will see me, and this causes them to really think what is Jesus talking about? Is he really going back to the Father for a little while and then coming back with us, what is his great plan. If you have been in church awhile or know your bible you know his plan. But the disciples don’t quite get it yet. They don’t fully comprehend what Jesus is trying to tell them. They want the clear cut answer when and where are you going, and when are you coming back? Let us know so we wont have this sorrow.
And Jesus tells them something in verses 19-20
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
Seems even confusing to me, at first glance as well, but Jesus gives them a parable as the answer instead of just telling them plainly in the text. And he tells them you will weep and lament. Why would they weep and lament soon because Jesus wasn’t just going on a 7 day cruise; he was going to cross to die the worst possible death one could die. You can’t sit here and think from the disciples perspective that this event for them in the moment was good , because they don’t understand it yet. They can’t comprehend the fact that their Lord is going to die, and thats good for them. Who would think that in their natural mind.
Jesus even says, the world will rejoice because of this death. Remember the world is Satans, and those who don’t belong to Christ are apart of the world, because Jesus goes away in this horrible way the world thinks they have won the war. They think because Jesus is gone, we have victory. The one who claimed to be the I AM is no more, and we don’t have to worry about him anymore, but remember Jesus is telling them something before that happens that is hey I will go away for a little while but listen you will see me again, and he is referring to the death and resurrection. The world celebrates the death of Jesus, but he is alive.
The reality is his death and resurrection is the nail in the coffin for those who don’t believe, and the joy for those who do. So he uses this illustration of Child birth to help them understand that all this sorrow is going to be worth it.
He says in Verse 21-22… When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
For the moms in the room they understand this verse well, because they know what its like to go through child birth, they know the pain and labor leading up to the great event of actual child birth. But when that event happens and you hold your child for the first time you forget all that sorrow and pain, and feast your eyes on your child, joy fills your heart. There is nothing like it in this world.
And that is what is going to happen when the disciples see the resurrected Jesus in a little while, but think about how that little while must have felt.
I like what one Pastor said, “Ten minutes in an ice cream parlor is a little while; ten minutes in a dentist’s chair is an eternity. So these little whiles can seem quite long when we are enduring them.”
And that little while for them must have felt like eternity, because they didn’t fully know how this would unfold.
An example for us is this... One Pastor talked with Christian woman and ministered to her just days before her death after a ten-year battle with cancer. She looked at him with tears running down her cheeks and said, Pastor, I just can’t take it anymore.” Have you been there? It’s one thing to hurt for a day, but when the pain lasts for a month or a year, and then that year turns into ten years, all of a person’s reserves of strength seem to drain away. This woman had trusted God through that whole time, and she finally said, “I can’t take it anymore.” Within a few days, the Lord took her home, took her away from the pain and the lament to unspeakable joy.
I say this about Lois all the time, but her faithfulness has taught me so much in my own life, and walk. And its important for us to remember. No matter what sorrow you are going through because of the death and resurrection you can have joy, and no one can take that way from you.
Whether the little while is just a little while or turns into being along while we can have joy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
And you can have joy because of the next thing as well.
second thing I want you to write down is this…
You can have joy because you can pray
You can have joy because you can pray
Listen to verses 23-28
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
What a joy that we have access to God through prayer. At that time the disciples did not need to have this access because they were with Jesus, but because he is leaving and died and rose again and returning to the Father they are still going to have access to God through Jesus Christ, now remember we were already told in this gospel that the Holy Spirit is going to remind them of the things Jesus has said, but there is coming a time where they can ask in Jesus name in prayer and God will answer them, and the same goes for us as well.
The cross made it possible that any believer could go to God in prayer through Jesus, because Jesus was obedient in every way to the father, because of the work on the cross and the Holy Spirit opening the eyes of the disciples to see clearly what they should know and that applies to us as well.
What joy it is knowing we can go to our Lord in prayer, all because of what Jesus did, and where he is at with the Father in Heaven.
There was this man named Jon Bloom, and he wrote this article about pursing joy in every prayer. Great article, and in the article he says somethings that are very thought provoking and powerful stuff about the joy in prayer and I want to share some of that with you…
He says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” If that is true, then prayer, like everything else we do (1 Corinthians 10:31), is first and foremost a pursuit of our satisfaction in God. Unlike everything else we do, though, prayer is an especially vital and precious means God has given us to grow our joy in him.
Why do I say this? Because in prayer, we go straight to God — the one who is not only the source of “every good gift and every perfect gift” as it says in James 1:17 but is himself our “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). We see this beautifully expressed in one of David’s prayers:
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)
When we pray, we are pursuing a fuller joy, a deeper pleasure, a more abundant life in God. We want to glorify him all the more in all we do, so we ask him to satisfy us all the more with himself. We pray to see more of his glory, to experience more of his strength and help, to feel more joy in God.
That last part really sticks out to me that said, We pray to see more of his glory, to experience more of his strength and help, to feel more joy in God. And honestly most of the time we dont think about when we are praying to see God for who he is in all his glory it first. I think this is because often our prayers are not shaped by our understanding of the Word and who God is, and because of that we truly lack experiencing him and the strength and help we get from him, and in doing so we lose the true joy it is that we get to pray to God through Christ.
The author of the article goes on to say…
When we speak of prayer as a primary means God has provided us to pursue our satisfaction — our joy — in him, we do not at all mean to be re-duction-is-tic. The prayers of the Bible are very diverse and pursue joy in a wide variety of ways. Prayer, at heart, is a pursuit of our exceeding joy: God (Psalm 43:4). And that’s by design. Because “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
Don’t look at prayer as just a chore but as a true joy, a true joy that you can go to God and ask him things in Jesus name, because of his love for us. This great love that he had for us, in the death and resurrection, and know you can do it because Christ is in his rightful place in heaven after he did the work he needed to on earth. And all this may make your joy full when you go to him in prayer, and ultimately this joy we have rests in the third and final point this morning.
You can have joy because Jesus has overcome the world. 29-33
You can have joy because Jesus has overcome the world. 29-33
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The disciples thought they had an ah ha moment. Thought they finally got it, just remember they have been with him 3 years. You figure they would understand a thing or two, but now they say they get it, we dont need to ask you anything else, we believe you are from God. But really they didn’t quite get it yet
but Jesus says Now you believe, the time has come for me to die, and you are going to run and scatter, you are going to go back to your homes, and leave me alone, We do see Peter and John return back latter but even they are going to flee in the moment of Jesus arrest, and why is that because they can’t handle what is about to come.
The guards are going to come get Jesus led by Judas and the disciples are going to scatter, yet Jesus says my Father is going to be with me. In that statement we see an amazing promise others may leave you, but God never will.
And despite Jesus saying they are go to scatter he is telling them have peace from what I have said to you in this room. There life is about to change, but in the last moments before Jesus is going to die, he has told them I am the way the truth and the life, I have a place for you, I have this gift I am giving you in this life the Holy Spirit who comes in my name to remind you of all I have done, and said, I am the true vine, and you will bear fruit, the world will hate you, because it hates me, and you will face this horrible tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world.
Just as an encouragement to you one story of tribulation a believer faced at one time whose name was, Jan Hus. Hus is one of my favorite people in church history I may have mentioned him before, but he predates Martin Luther, Luther actually was an admirer of him, but Hus was at one time a Catholic Priest he became one so he could escape poverty. But overtime he discovered the bible for himself, and not just the traditions of man, and became sort of a rebel against the catholic church and lost favor with the pope because he did not approve of the indulgences, and that Hus believed the bible had the final authority on all matters and not man, and that led him to be excommunicated from the church, and in November 1414 they had a council of Constance and Hus was urged to come and was promised safety, but when he got there he was arrested, and asked to recant his views rather than given the opportunity to tell them about why he thought the way he did.
And so he told them, ““I appeal to Jesus Christ, the only judge who is almighty and completely just. In his hands I plead my cause, not on the basis of false witnesses and erring councils, but on truth and justice. But on July 6 1415, they took him to the Cathedral, and dressed him up in priestly garments then one by one began to take them off, never recanting what he believed about Jesus and his word during the process, and they gave him one last chance before they burned him alive, and he still did not budge, and he said on that state before he died, ““Lord Jesus, it is for thee that I patiently endure this cruel death. I pray thee to have mercy on my enemies.” He was heard reciting the Psalms as the flames engulfed him. And to make it worse for Hus they threw his ashes in the river.
If you have ever herd the term Your goose is cooked it came from Jan Hus.
But because Jesus overcame the World Hus is in Heaven. Hus remained faithful to the point of death knowing he had one who already died for him.
Believers will have tribulation for what they believe in, but take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.
At the end of the Day it doesn’t matter if you think you have lost every battle, like Hus did with Rome, and like you may have each and every day, because Jesus won the war. History does not remember the battles as much as it does the victor. But never the less Jesus is the one who overcame the world. Not you, not I But Jesus. Jesus overcame the world that we could not overcome in order that we can overcome the world.
"Jesus goes to the cross not in fear or in gloom, but as a conqueror"
I have visited this text with you many times, but I believe every believer needs this text rooted into their very souls.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus overcame the world, take that to heart, live out of victory of Jesus Christ. We are people accustomed to Victory. We won the revolutionary war, the war of 1812, the Mexican American War, World War 1, and 2, the Persian Gulf war and through those victories America has lived out of those victories, and done great things. If you are a sooner Fan like myself we have won 41 national championships. And we have told many north and south of us about them haven’t we, but greater than those victories in war and in sports is the greatest victory through Jesus Christ.
A victory that produces joy over sorrow, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the the prayers we can make, and the victory that he won, because he defeated the sin of this world by dying on a cross for all of his elect, his children, and as we just read we get the victory spoils, We get the promise if God is for us who can be against us, the promise he gives us all things, and promise of no condemnation, the promise of intercession, the promise that nothing in this life despite how bad it may seem can separate us from God, even those things like death , angels, rulers, powers, or anything else this world can through at us. Sounds like the best victory if you ask me.
So how could we not have joy over sorrow in this world knowing who Jesus is. If you don’t today I believe maybe thats because you are not a believer in Christ, and know this that Christ can come into your life and replace the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh, and make you new and he can show you that you are a sinner, and show you that you need to repent of that sin and trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and if you do that You can find this joy, however maybe you are a believer in Christ, but sin has a grip on you, and you are not seeing this joy Christ gives, kill the sin, a good tree does not bear bad fruit, and I can promise you if you kill that sin and run to Jesus he can restore the joy of your salvation.
Where ever you are at today respond with with joy, because of Jesus, Joy reigns over sorrow.