Sorrow Turned Into Joy - Jesse Barrington

Well, good evening.

It's a privilege to be back with you all,

to see you all.

I read a quote this week
by Stephen Charnock.

He said, "A mite (m-i-t-e),

a mite of Spirit is worth more

than a mountain of flesh."

And I believe that's true.

And so before we do anything,

even the reading of the Word,

I just want to pray

and ask for God's Spirit to come

and be with us and to help us.

Father, it is in the name of
Jesus Christ that we come.

Father, we can't even offer up
prayers to You without grace.

So how am I going to preach
without Your grace?

How are we going to hear
without Your grace?

And how are we going to behold

the glory of Jesus Christ
without Your grace?

We need Your Spirit.

Father, we thank You for Your Son.

We thank You for Your Word.

We thank You for Your Spirit in us -

the Guide,

the Helper,

the Teacher.

We thank You for His work

glorifying the Son.

And that's my prayer, Father,

that tonight Jesus would be glorified;

that Jesus would be lifted on high;

that He would be magnified and seen,

Lord, maybe for the first time

as some are awakaned to Your glory

and others to a greater revelation.

And Father we pray not just to be

a work of the mind,

although You will work in our minds,

but You would go to the heart

and You would stir our affections

and our hope in Jesus Christ

as You show Him to us again and again.

As we pray Father, as we sang,

do show us Christ.

In His name we pray, Amen.

If you'll open your Bibles
to the Gospel of John 16.

It's a context I'm sure

that everyone in here is familiar with.

In chapter 16, we are just a few hours

before Jesus' crucifixion.

Jesus is alone with His disciples.

Judas has already left them

to go and betray Jesus.

They began in the upper room in chapter 13

where they shared the
Passover meal together,

and Jesus began to teach them there.

At this point in chapter 16,

they're making their way down

to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus has been teaching His disciples.

He's been preparing them

for His soon-coming departure.

He's already told them
that He's going away.

And He's told them that where He is going

they cannot come,

but He will come back

and bring them to Himself.

And although the disciples are hearing

everything that Jesus is teaching,

they're really struggling to understand.

They're really struggling to grasp it all.

Knowing their blessed Savior
and Lord is leaving them

has caused their hearts to be troubled

and understandably so.

But Jesus is comforting with them.

But He's also preparing them.

He's preparing them

for how they will carry on His ministry

after He departs.

In verses 16-24, which is
our text for this evening,

Jesus is telling the disciples,

they're going to soon face something

that they will find very difficult;

something that will bring them much sorrow

and circumstantially will leave them

with no hope or joy.

But at the end of verse 20,

the main thing Jesus
wants to teach them and us -

if you can go ahead and look
at the end of v. 20 with me -

this is what Jesus is driving home

and what I want us to see tonight.

He says this to the disciples:

"You will be sorrowful,

but... your sorrow will turn into joy."

The disciples are about
to be thrust into something

that will bring all of
their hope crashing down.

It will at the surface level

seem like everything is ending

and it's all over,

and it will fill them with great sorrow.

But Jesus says here:

"... but your sorrow
will be turned into joy."

This truth that Jesus is teaching

will help the disciples in
their immediate context

about what they're getting ready to face,

but we need to understand this -

the truth that Jesus is teaching

is true for every believer in all of life.

And I want to understand it

in the disciple's immediate context,

and I want to apply this glorious truth

to all of our life.

Let me give you just a brief overview

of verses 16-24.

Then we'll read the text.

In v. 16, Jesus is going to
teach them something

that they're really not going to grasp.

In v. 17-19, they're going to
talk amongst themselves,

explaining how we're not really getting

what Jesus is talking about here.

And Jesus knows that.

So in v. 20, He's going to
explain it even further

and He's going to drive
home that main point

that your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Even at this point,
the disciples won't get it,

so Jesus being a good Teacher,

in v. 21, He's going to
use an illustration.

He's going to point to something

that they can relate to,

that we can relate to,

and He'll say it's kind of like that

but a little bit different.

And then in v. 22-26,

Jesus will apply this glorious truth

to all of our lives

and show us how it can be a reality.

So if you'll follow along

as we read through God's holy Word.

John 16:16-24.

"A little while, and you
will see Me no longer.

And again a little while,
and you will see Me.

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'm going to the Father?'

So they were saying,

'What does He mean by a little while?

We do not know what He's talking about.'

(v. 19) Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him,

so He said to them,

'Is this what you're 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?

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.

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 that anguish,

for joy that a human being has been born

into the world.

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.

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.

Until now you have asked
nothing in My name.

Ask and you will receive

that your joy may be full.'"

Let's just start walking
through these verses.

In v. 16, Jesus says, "A little while

and you will see Me no longer,

and a little while, and you will see Me."

The disciples do not understand

what Jesus is talking about.

And they begin to talk about
that amongst themselves.

Again, in v. 17,

"So some of His disciples
said to one another,

'What is this He says?

A little while and you will not see Me?

And again a little while
and you will see Me?'

And 'Because I go to the Father?'"

That's what He was saying

referenced back in v. 10

when He's describing the
ministry of the Holy Spirit

to the world.

So they were saying,

"What does He mean by a little while?

We don't know what He's talking about."

And in v. 19, "Jesus knew
they wanted to ask Him."

So He said to them,

"Is this what you're asking yourselves?

What I meant by saying a little while

and you will not see Me again,

and a little while and you will see Me?"

Now before we get to
what Jesus means by this,

I want us just to stop for a second

and take note of something here.

Do you notice how tender and loving

and patient Jesus is with the disciples?

Beloved, we are a few hours from Jesus

being nailed to the cross at this time

where He will endure the wrath of God

for His people's sin.

And who is He mindful of?

Who is He thinking about?

Who is He concerned about being ready

for that moment?

Who does He want to prepare

for what's about to come?

The disciples.

He is concerned about
how this will affect them

and He wants to make
sure that they're ready.

Just behold the self-sacrificing love

of our Savior Jesus Christ.

It is an amazing love.

What does Jesus mean when He says

"a little while and you
will not see Me again"?

In v. 20 He explains it. Look at it.

"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."

By what Jesus says in the
first half of this verse,

we can understand what He's alluding to

that in a little while
will bring them sorrow.

Something is happening
soon circumstantially.

The disciples will be tempted

with hopelessness and despair.

Weeping and lamenting.

Because we have the full revelation

of God's Word here,

we know what He's talking about.

He's talking about His death on the cross.

This is confirmed when Jesus tells us

the contrast to His death,

that the world will have compared to

what His disciples will have.

At Jesus' death, the disciples

seeing the Lord suffer and die,

will be brought to weeping and lamenting.

We have to remember something

about the disciples at this time,

where they're at in their thinking.

They're not understanding all of this.

They're still believing that
when Messiah comes -

and they believe Jesus is Messiah -

but they're believing that
when Messiah comes,

He's going to instantly establish

the full reality of His Kingdom.

That's why earlier on in the Gospel,

they're vying for position.

Who gets to sit next to
You in Your Kingdom?

They believe it's coming here and now.

They believe He's going
to overthrow the Romans.

He's going to overthrow the
hypocritical Jewish leaders.

He's going to establish Himself

as King here and now.

And then in a little bit here coming

He's going to die.

I mean, no doubt that
they're going to weep

not only in seeing Him die,

but the confusion that all of this

is going to bring to them.

The world on the other hand,

Jesus said will rejoice.

Why would the world rejoice

at the death of Jesus Christ?

You've read the Gospel of John.

You know what Jesus says
about the world in John 3.

Listen to it.

He says, "People love darkness

rather than light,

for their works are evil.

For everyone who does wicked things

hates the light

and does not come to the light,

lest his works be exposed."

Saints, know this.

Rejection of Jesus Christ
is not an intellectual issue.

It's a moral issue.

It's a heart, affection, love issue.

We need to know something about

what Jesus has said here

about the world and their hatred

and their rejoicing when
He's going to die.

There are only two responses

to Jesus Christ in the world.

It's either hatred or it is love.

There is no neutrality.

There is no: you know what?

He's a good teacher.
I can deal with Jesus.

No.

There are two responses in the world.

You either bow to Him as Lord and Savior

and embrace Him in
fullness of faith and love,

or you reject Him in hatred

and in love for your sin.

And I would be wrong if I
didn't stop and ask you this:

Do you love Jesus?

Do you love Him?

You can't be indifferent towards Him.

There's no middle ground.

If you say I don't know
if I really love Jesus,

then the other alternative
that the Scriptures lay out

is you hate Him.

And Paul reminds us in his
letter to the Corinthians

if you don't love Jesus Christ,
you're accursed.

Jesus says to the disciples,

"You will weep and lament,

but the world will rejoice."

And then the second part of v. 20,

He gets to the main truth
of what's being taught here.

He says, "You will be sorrowful"

to the disciples,

"But your sorrow will turn into joy."

Think about that for a moment.

Sorrow turning into joy.

If you and I can grasp what this means

and what it does not mean -

how sorrow turns into joy -

then we're going to be able to experience

what Jesus desires for us to experience,

and that's found at the end of v. 26.

This is where all this is leading.

Look at the end of v. 26.

What does Jesus desire for all of us?

"That your joy may be full."

That's His end desire, His end aim,

is that His disciples and all of us,

that our joy would be full.

There is an immediate
application for the disciples

that when they see Him crucified and dead,

that they will have joy
at His resurrection.

But this truth that Jesus is teaching

can be applied to all of life.

The disciples are still not grasping

what Jesus is teaching -

that their sorrow will be turned to joy.

So He uses an illustration in v. 21

to help the disciples understand how.

How is it that sorrow is turned into joy?

Look at it in v. 21.

"When a woman is giving birth,

she has sorrow

because her hour has come."

That hour is the hour of delivery

or we could say hours
sometimes of delivery.

And it brings genuine real pain

and because of that, sorrow.

"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."

See, the delivering of
the baby is something

the disciples can relate to.

It's something that many
of you can relate to.

There are many children in here.

God has blessed many
of us with many children.

Some of you by firsthand experience -

the women here - or by
secondhand as a father,

you've witnessed this.

You've seen a mother go into delivery.

And often they're brought to tears

in pain, in anguish.

But once that baby is born,

those tears of pain and anguish turn.

And they turn into tears of joy.

And that's glorious here.

But I want to ask one
really important question

to help us tonight.

Why does the mother have joy?

Is it because the sorrow
and anguish was gone?

No.

She doesn't have joy because the sorrow

and the anguish are gone.

It's still there.

What's happened?

The sorrow and anguish

has been swallowed up

in the joy of the baby.

See, this is really important.

She doesn't have joy

because all of a sudden the pain was gone.

The pain is still there.

It's there at that moment.

But she is instantly filled with joy.

Her sorrow turned into joy

and it wasn't because the sorrow left her,

it's because the sorrow was swallowed up

in the joy of the baby.

That's an important truth.

And I'm going to try to carry that

as we work through
the rest of the text here.

In v. 22, Jesus applies the illustration.

He says, "So also, you disciples

(us here - just like the
mother giving birth)

you have sorrow now..."

Speaking of when He's going to die.

"But I will see you again

and your hearts will rejoice."

Again, the disciples will have
sorrow when Jesus dies,

but when He rises from the dead

and they see Him again,

their hearts are going to rejoice.

Yes, because He was gone

and now He lives,

but they're going to rejoice
beyond that moment

in that reality, and here's why:

Because they're going to be
growing from then on

until they enter into eternity

of what that resurrection meant.

Yes, they're going to miss Him.

They're going to weep that He's died.

He's in the tomb.

And they'll rejoice when
they see Him again,

but when they begin to grasp

more and more and more

as life goes on

by the revelation of the Spirit

what that resurrection meant,

the joy of that resurrection

will be able to be applied
to their entire life.

It's not a one time thing.

Oh, we saw Him and we're happy. Move on.

What's tied up in that reality

is joy for the rest of life.

This joy Jesus is talking about

is like what the mother experienced,

but it's better.

You know why?

Because of what He
says at the end of v. 22.

"No one can take it from you."

No one can take this joy from you.

You see, the joy the mother
has in the moment,

swallows up the pain of the delivery.

But that joy can fade.

Babies die.

Children die. Relationships are broken.

The joy Jesus is speaking about

to the disciples and to us,

it's an eternal joy.

Real joy.

This isn't just joy for when the disciples

are sorrowful over the death of Jesus.

This is joy that's with them forever

through all of life's sorrows.

This is a sorrow-conquering joy

that is for every believer

and that never leaves us.

Real joy and fullness therein

is available to every one of us

despite our circumstances -

even the most bleak of circumstances.

And when I say that to you,

it gets a little bit personal.

Because I want to ask you this:

Do you really believe that?

Honestly?

That fullness of joy is available

to every believer

despite how bleak the circumstances seem?

I know when I ask a question like that,

that we're dealing with real pain

and real sorrow.

I know we're dealing with things

like being offended by others.

I know we're dealing
with things like cancer.

I know we're dealing with things

like living in continual
pain day after day

because of physical struggles.

I know we're dealing
with broken relationships

and broken marriages.

I know we're dealing with injustice.

I know we're dealing
with spiritual warfare.

I know we're dealing with death.

Those are real pains and real sorrows.

And I have a question for us all.

If Jesus is speaking of a joy

that no one can take from us,

why aren't we
experiencing it all the time?

I think everyone in here wants joy.

I think the answer is because

in our practical, street-
level Christian living

of our everyday lives,

where we experience suffering and pain,

we really struggle to see how joy

can be truly experienced

in the midst of sorrow, pain, and anguish.

And we have begun at times to believe

that if we're really going
to experience true joy,

it must be at the removal

of sorrow, pain, and anguish.

In v. 23 and 24, Jesus is going
to teach the disciples

a really important theological shift

that's going to take place
in light of the resurrection.

It will help us see how we
can approach the Father

regarding these things.

And we need to understand that.

But because the aim of v. 24

is that our joy would be full,

but it's also going to
teach us another thing

and that is this:
what's the source of joy.

What's the source of joy?

We need to know how we
need to approach the Father

if we're going to have this
joy that's set before us.

But we need to understand importantly too

what's the source of joy.

And to help us think about that,

I'm going to go back
to the illustration again

and just drive the point
home one more time for you.

In the illustration Jesus gave,

the woman was in the midst of sorrow -

true physical pain -

and then her sorrow turned into joy.

And it wasn't because
the sorrow was removed.

It was swallowed up
in the joy of the baby.

And Jesus teaching us
how to come to the Father

after the resurrection,

He's going to be teaching
us the source of joy.

And let me tell you this,

the source of joy is not the removal

of pain, sorrow, and anguish.

In this life, you're guaranteed

constant pain, sorrow, and anguish.

Yet, here Jesus holds out before us

eternal joy and fullness thereof.

I think most of us are getting this wrong

and I'll help you to diagnose
if you're like me often.

Regarding your pain, sorrow, and anguish,

how do you pray about that?

If you're like me,

most of my prayers regarding
my pain, sorrow, and anguish

are: God, I want to have joy,

so I need You to remove the pain,

the sorrow, the anguish,
or the source of it.

I spend a lot of my prayer time there.

I want to be careful here.

I'm not implying it's wrong to pray

for healing or for God
to remove those things.

I'm not implying that at all.

But I think it's really important

that we see as we look
through the lens of Scripture

the normative means through which God

brings joy to us is not the removal

of pain, sorrow, and anguish -

it's by giving us joy in the midst

of pain, sorrow, and anguish

by giving us Jesus.

Saints, there's something more - better -

than the removal of pain.

It's Jesus in the midst of pain.

And when we really struggle to see that,

to believe that because the pain is real,

but I want you to know this:

Jesus is more real.

God gets glory by
removing pain and sorrow.

He gets glory by healing,
but I want you to know this,

God gets even more glory

when He swallows up pain with joy.

I mean tell me what looks better

from a world's persective:

to see someone who circumstantially

has no basis for joy?

And is in full pain?

Yet they're unexplainably rejoicing?

That gives God glory.

You know what else it
forces the world to do?

It forces the world to come to you

and say, hey, what is
the source of the hope

that is within you?

Because they can't see the circumstance -

in fact, they see a circumstance

that should lead to grumbling

and complaining and whining,

yet they're seeing joy.

And when they ask you that,

you get to stand up
and you get to say this:

Jesus Christ is the source of my joy

in the midst of my sorrow and pain.

Saints, God looks good in that scenario.

I just want to say it
again to be pastoral.

I am not saying it's wrong

to pray for healing.

"Father, if this cup could pass from Me."

It's not wrong to pray
that these things would pass.

But I do want us to think about praying:

Give me Jesus.

Give me that which is better
than physical healing -

Jesus in the midst of healing -

that You might look good.

How are we to approach the Father?

V. 23, "In that day..."

that's after the resurrection,

"You will ask nothing of Me,"

Jesus says to the disciples.

Let me ask you this:

Why will the disciples
ask nothing of Jesus?

He's leaving.

He's not going to be there physically.

That's one reason, but
it's deeper than that.

This is a theological shift.

It's more than just Jesus
ascending into heaven.

There's a theological
shift occurring here.

Jesus is going to go to the Father

and up until this time

the disciples have been
able to turn to Jesus

and say, Jesus, what should we do here?

Jesus, give is this -

and He's been able to
answer that for them.

But now what Jesus is doing

is He's teaching them a theological shift.

Look at v. 23.

"Truly, truly, I say to you,

whatever you ask of the Father

in My name..."

That's the shift.

They have prayed to the Father before.

Now, Jesus said to them whatever you ask

of the Father in My name,

He will give it to you.

"Until now, you have
asked nothing in My name.

Ask and you will receive

that your joy may be full."

What doctrine is Jesus teaching here?

The doctrine of mediation.

The doctrine that through His
death, burial, and resurrection

He has reconciled once and for all

a holy God to sinful man,

and He is the means through which

this reconciliation took place.

And He wants them to acknowledge that

that when they come to the Father,

they come to Him in Jesus' name,

acknowledging all that
Jesus has accomplished.

If we're going to pray this prayer right,

and in the end have fullness of joy

in the midst of our pain and sorrow,

we need to know what does it mean

to pray in Jesus' name.

I'm going to tell you at
least three things it means.

It means probably more,
but at least three.

The first thing it means is this:

you're not coming in your name.

Praying in Jesus' name means

you're not coming in your name.

It means this: I'm not coming and saying

Father, I know You'll be pleased with me.

I read my Bible seven days this week.

And I increased my
prayer time by 30 minutes.

Did You see that?

And I did witness to that person,

so here I am.

I know You're going to give me favor.

That's coming in my name.

That's not coming in Jesus' name.

And Jesus' name does mean

that when we come, we say,

Father, I recognize that it's
through Jesus' shed blood

that I am cleansed.

It is through His righteousness

that I am declared righteous,

received by faith,

and I come in His name.

But it means at least one more thing,

that if we're going to come

in the name of Jesus,

that we're going to come
with all that Jesus is

and that means that
align our will to His will.

And all throughout the Gospel of John -

if you've read it before, you know this -

what is the will of Jesus Christ?

It is to do the will of the Father.

So if we're coming in Jesus' name

to the Father as Jesus tells us here,

it's not in my name,

not in my accomplishments,

not in my own righteousness.

It's in His name, it's in His shed blood.

It is in His righteousness.

And it's in align with His will

which means now I'm in line

with the Father's will.

And did you take note here

of what Jesus said after that?

"Whatever we ask of the Father..."

in Jesus' name, He will give it to you.

He will give it to you.

This is a verse that the health, wealth,

and prosperity heretics lay hold of.

They say, see, Jesus wants
you to have fullness of joy.

And they say, see, if you come to Him

in Jesus' name, He'll give it to you.

And they see at the
beginning of the text here

that they were in sorrow

and God's bringing them to fullness of joy

and all they need to do is
come here in the middle

and say "in Jesus' name"

and He'll do whatever they ask.

So they look at this verse and they say

"in the name of Jesus...

take away all my sorrow,

all my sickness,

all my suffering;

in the name of Jesus

give me prosperity,

give me things,

and in that, I will have fullness of joy."

Is that what the verse means?

No, it's not what the verse means.

Joy's not tied to circumstances.

And joy's not found in the removal

of sorrow, pain, and suffering.

Joy is not found in the things

that God can give you.

Joy is found in the
giving of Jesus Christ.

Joy is found in interpreting all of life

through the resurrected Savior.

Joy is seeing my sorrow

in light of what Jesus has accomplished

and what His work is in me now.

What God answers in this prayer is

He does give us fullness of joy,

but He doesn't do it by removing

our sorrow most of the time.

He does it by giving you Jesus

in the midst of your sorrow

which will bring you to fullness of joy

and will crowd out and force you to forget

about the anguish
that you're experiencing

because Jesus is greater.

Saints, when we rightly approach
the Father in Jesus' name

we're asking what we
sang a few moments ago.

Show us Christ.

Help me to see Jesus.

Help me to see who I am

in light of that death,
burial, and resurrection.

Help me to see who I am in union to Him.

See, this truth will help the disciples,

but it's true for all of our lives.

What about in the circumstance of death?

Death is real. Death hurts.

Whether it's someone close to us

or even our own,

how can the Father give you joy

in the face of death?

By helping you realize

that Christ has conquered death

through His resurrection.

By helping you see

that death no longer has a sting anymore.

It's been swallowed up

through Jesus conquering it,

and that death is not
the end for the believer.

Death is the beginning of all things.

And we begin to look through the lens

of Jesus Christ in all of life,

no matter what the sorrow is,

we can have fullness of joy

if we're looking through
the lens of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, the joy of Jesus surpasses

the most difficult of circumstances.

In John 15, Jesus told the disciples,

"the world will hate you

because they hated Me."

And then He told them this:

but you're to be witnesses to them.

And then He told them this:

The way that they'll
demonstrate their hate to you

is that they're going to put
you out of the synagogue,

and they'll even kill you.

They'll even kill you.

Well, where's the joy of Jesus in that?

That's a pretty bleak circumstance.

You're going to live in a world of people

that hate you and they hate the message

that you're going to bring.

They're going to put you
out of the synagogue

and they're going to kill you.

Is there joy available in the
midst of that circumstance?

Have you read Acts 5?

When they went out and they preached

in the name of Jesus Christ

and they were beaten for it.

And it says that they
left the council what?

Rejoicing that they were counted worthy

to suffer for the name.

Beloved, every area of life,

if we commit it to the Father

in the name of Jesus,

and He grants to us the
greater revelation of Jesus,

we can have joy in the midst of suffering

which is better than even
the removal of the pain.

This is our Gospel message.

This is our life between
the now and the not yet.

This is what's available to us.

Jesus demonstrated this to us, didn't He?

I mean, He faced the
greatest anguish and suffering

any human being will ever face

under the wrath of God for His people,

and what does the writer
of Hebrews tell us?

For the what that was set before Him?

For the joy that was set before Him,

He endured the cross.

It doesn't mean the cross didn't hurt.

It doesn't mean your pain is not real.

The Bible never says put on a fake smile

and act like Jesus is good.

That's not what we're talking about here.

The Bible acknowledges pain.

It acknowledges suffering.

It sets proper expectations,

but it says this to you:

I can give you joy in the midst of it

by giving you more of Jesus -

a greater revelation of the sufficiency

and the love of Jesus Christ,

and in that there's fullness of joy.

This is a supernatural joy.

I'm going to close by telling you this:

When you come to the
Father in Jesus' name,

and you ask for Him to grant you

fullness of joy in Jesus Christ,

He accomplishes that

by the ministry of the Holy Spirit

through the Word

glorifying the Son.

I want you to look, before we close,

look back at chapter 16:14.

This is the verse where Jesus

is describing the
ministry of the Holy Spirit

to the church.

Jesus is saying I'm leaving you,

but He'll send you another
Helper - the Paraclete.

He will come and He
will be a guide to you.

He will guide you in all truth.

And then He tells us
that the pointed climax

of what the Holy Spirit is doing

in the life of every believer.

What's He doing in chapter 16:14?

"He (the Spirit) will glorify Me."

This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Father is working through the Spirit,

revealing the Son through the Word.

The Spirit is magnifying Jesus Christ.

He is lifting Him up and shining upon Him

that we may behold Him.

So when we pray,

"Father, in the name of Jesus,

help me have joy,"

you can't do this.

You've got to keep in
step with the Spirit.

God, help me to see.

This is how He works.

Through the Spirit magnifying the Son

and in the revelation of who Jesus is,

what He's accomplished,

and who we are in union to Him,

you can have joy in the midst

of sorrow and suffering.

Praise God for His grace.

O come to the Father

through Jesus the Son,

and give Him the glory;

great things He has done.

Let's pray.

Father, how good You are!

This is a room of trophies of grace.

That's all we are, God.
We're people under grace.

You've rescued us in Jesus.

You've put Your Spirit within us.

You've given us Your Word.

And here You give us hope in this life

for the most dire of circumstances

and real pain by telling
us there's something

better than the removal
of pain and sorrow -

Your Son in the midst of it.

So God, grant to Your people

fullness of joy in Jesus Christ

as we behold Him through the Word

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.