WEBVTT 00:00:01.464 --> 00:00:03.012 Well, good evening. 00:00:03.012 --> 00:00:05.719 It's a privilege to be back with you all, 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:07.254 to see you all. 00:00:07.254 --> 00:00:11.753 I read a quote this week by Stephen Charnock. 00:00:11.753 --> 00:00:15.504 He said, "A mite (m-i-t-e), 00:00:15.504 --> 00:00:19.294 a mite of Spirit is worth more 00:00:19.294 --> 00:00:23.229 than a mountain of flesh." 00:00:23.229 --> 00:00:25.314 And I believe that's true. 00:00:25.314 --> 00:00:27.480 And so before we do anything, 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:29.096 even the reading of the Word, 00:00:29.096 --> 00:00:31.014 I just want to pray 00:00:31.014 --> 00:00:33.466 and ask for God's Spirit to come 00:00:33.466 --> 00:00:41.654 and be with us and to help us. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:41.654 --> 00:00:49.495 Father, it is in the name of Jesus Christ that we come. 00:00:49.495 --> 00:00:56.685 Father, we can't even offer up prayers to You without grace. 00:00:56.685 --> 00:00:59.194 So how am I going to preach without Your grace? 00:00:59.194 --> 00:01:01.464 How are we going to hear without Your grace? 00:01:01.464 --> 00:01:03.374 And how are we going to behold 00:01:03.374 --> 00:01:07.154 the glory of Jesus Christ without Your grace? 00:01:07.154 --> 00:01:10.334 We need Your Spirit. 00:01:10.334 --> 00:01:12.554 Father, we thank You for Your Son. 00:01:12.554 --> 00:01:14.074 We thank You for Your Word. 00:01:14.074 --> 00:01:16.625 We thank You for Your Spirit in us - 00:01:16.625 --> 00:01:17.978 the Guide, 00:01:17.978 --> 00:01:19.185 the Helper, 00:01:19.185 --> 00:01:21.143 the Teacher. 00:01:21.143 --> 00:01:24.416 We thank You for His work 00:01:24.416 --> 00:01:27.671 glorifying the Son. 00:01:27.671 --> 00:01:30.134 And that's my prayer, Father, 00:01:30.134 --> 00:01:33.413 that tonight Jesus would be glorified; 00:01:33.413 --> 00:01:35.704 that Jesus would be lifted on high; 00:01:35.704 --> 00:01:38.584 that He would be magnified and seen, 00:01:38.584 --> 00:01:40.494 Lord, maybe for the first time 00:01:40.494 --> 00:01:44.382 as some are awakaned to Your glory 00:01:44.382 --> 00:01:48.273 and others to a greater revelation. 00:01:48.273 --> 00:01:50.272 And Father we pray not just to be 00:01:50.272 --> 00:01:51.614 a work of the mind, 00:01:51.614 --> 00:01:54.314 although You will work in our minds, 00:01:54.314 --> 00:01:57.431 but You would go to the heart 00:01:57.431 --> 00:01:59.943 and You would stir our affections 00:01:59.943 --> 00:02:01.885 and our hope in Jesus Christ 00:02:01.885 --> 00:02:06.114 as You show Him to us again and again. 00:02:06.114 --> 00:02:09.274 As we pray Father, as we sang, 00:02:09.274 --> 00:02:12.525 do show us Christ. 00:02:12.525 --> 00:02:17.731 In His name we pray, Amen. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:17.731 --> 00:02:26.874 If you'll open your Bibles to the Gospel of John 16. 00:02:26.874 --> 00:02:28.493 It's a context I'm sure 00:02:28.493 --> 00:02:33.423 that everyone in here is familiar with. 00:02:33.423 --> 00:02:36.193 In chapter 16, we are just a few hours 00:02:36.193 --> 00:02:40.245 before Jesus' crucifixion. 00:02:40.245 --> 00:02:42.405 Jesus is alone with His disciples. 00:02:42.405 --> 00:02:45.094 Judas has already left them 00:02:45.094 --> 00:02:48.383 to go and betray Jesus. 00:02:48.383 --> 00:02:51.114 They began in the upper room in chapter 13 00:02:51.114 --> 00:02:53.283 where they shared the Passover meal together, 00:02:53.283 --> 00:02:56.284 and Jesus began to teach them there. 00:02:56.284 --> 00:02:58.025 At this point in chapter 16, 00:02:58.025 --> 00:02:59.413 they're making their way down 00:02:59.413 --> 00:03:01.486 to the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:03:01.486 --> 00:03:04.154 Jesus has been teaching His disciples. 00:03:04.154 --> 00:03:06.025 He's been preparing them 00:03:06.025 --> 00:03:08.995 for His soon-coming departure. 00:03:08.995 --> 00:03:11.193 He's already told them that He's going away. 00:03:11.193 --> 00:03:13.165 And He's told them that where He is going 00:03:13.165 --> 00:03:14.414 they cannot come, 00:03:14.414 --> 00:03:15.895 but He will come back 00:03:15.895 --> 00:03:19.155 and bring them to Himself. 00:03:19.155 --> 00:03:21.433 And although the disciples are hearing 00:03:21.433 --> 00:03:23.654 everything that Jesus is teaching, 00:03:23.654 --> 00:03:25.733 they're really struggling to understand. 00:03:25.733 --> 00:03:28.363 They're really struggling to grasp it all. 00:03:28.363 --> 00:03:31.104 Knowing their blessed Savior and Lord is leaving them 00:03:31.104 --> 00:03:33.493 has caused their hearts to be troubled 00:03:33.493 --> 00:03:35.882 and understandably so. 00:03:35.882 --> 00:03:37.973 But Jesus is comforting with them. 00:03:37.973 --> 00:03:40.476 But He's also preparing them. 00:03:40.476 --> 00:03:41.504 He's preparing them 00:03:41.504 --> 00:03:44.734 for how they will carry on His ministry 00:03:44.734 --> 00:03:48.812 after He departs. 00:03:48.812 --> 00:03:52.704 In verses 16-24, which is our text for this evening, 00:03:52.704 --> 00:03:54.883 Jesus is telling the disciples, 00:03:54.883 --> 00:03:57.404 they're going to soon face something 00:03:57.404 --> 00:04:01.842 that they will find very difficult; 00:04:01.842 --> 00:04:05.746 something that will bring them much sorrow 00:04:05.746 --> 00:04:08.184 and circumstantially will leave them 00:04:08.184 --> 00:04:11.524 with no hope or joy. 00:04:11.524 --> 00:04:13.373 But at the end of verse 20, 00:04:13.373 --> 00:04:16.123 the main thing Jesus wants to teach them and us - 00:04:16.123 --> 00:04:19.033 if you can go ahead and look at the end of v. 20 with me - 00:04:19.033 --> 00:04:21.585 this is what Jesus is driving home 00:04:21.585 --> 00:04:23.686 and what I want us to see tonight. 00:04:23.686 --> 00:04:25.473 He says this to the disciples: 00:04:25.473 --> 00:04:30.523 "You will be sorrowful, 00:04:30.523 --> 00:04:37.802 but... your sorrow will turn into joy." 00:04:37.802 --> 00:04:40.882 The disciples are about to be thrust into something 00:04:40.882 --> 00:04:44.124 that will bring all of their hope crashing down. 00:04:44.124 --> 00:04:45.922 It will at the surface level 00:04:45.922 --> 00:04:48.023 seem like everything is ending 00:04:48.023 --> 00:04:49.714 and it's all over, 00:04:49.714 --> 00:04:54.854 and it will fill them with great sorrow. 00:04:54.854 --> 00:04:56.183 But Jesus says here: 00:04:56.183 --> 00:05:01.234 "... but your sorrow will be turned into joy." 00:05:01.234 --> 00:05:04.315 This truth that Jesus is teaching 00:05:04.315 --> 00:05:07.125 will help the disciples in their immediate context 00:05:07.125 --> 00:05:09.654 about what they're getting ready to face, 00:05:09.654 --> 00:05:11.684 but we need to understand this - 00:05:11.684 --> 00:05:14.554 the truth that Jesus is teaching 00:05:14.554 --> 00:05:18.732 is true for every believer in all of life. 00:05:18.732 --> 00:05:20.343 And I want to understand it 00:05:20.343 --> 00:05:22.563 in the disciple's immediate context, 00:05:22.563 --> 00:05:25.001 and I want to apply this glorious truth 00:05:25.001 --> 00:05:27.022 to all of our life. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:27.022 --> 00:05:28.889 Let me give you just a brief overview 00:05:28.889 --> 00:05:31.054 of verses 16-24. 00:05:31.054 --> 00:05:32.603 Then we'll read the text. 00:05:32.603 --> 00:05:35.594 In v. 16, Jesus is going to teach them something 00:05:35.594 --> 00:05:38.383 that they're really not going to grasp. 00:05:38.383 --> 00:05:43.124 In v. 17-19, they're going to talk amongst themselves, 00:05:43.124 --> 00:05:45.735 explaining how we're not really getting 00:05:45.735 --> 00:05:47.705 what Jesus is talking about here. 00:05:47.705 --> 00:05:49.245 And Jesus knows that. 00:05:49.245 --> 00:05:53.125 So in v. 20, He's going to explain it even further 00:05:53.125 --> 00:05:55.524 and He's going to drive home that main point 00:05:55.524 --> 00:06:00.615 that your sorrow will be turned into joy. 00:06:00.615 --> 00:06:03.405 Even at this point, the disciples won't get it, 00:06:03.405 --> 00:06:05.156 so Jesus being a good Teacher, 00:06:05.156 --> 00:06:08.066 in v. 21, He's going to use an illustration. 00:06:08.066 --> 00:06:09.616 He's going to point to something 00:06:09.616 --> 00:06:10.854 that they can relate to, 00:06:10.854 --> 00:06:12.454 that we can relate to, 00:06:12.454 --> 00:06:14.560 and He'll say it's kind of like that 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:16.568 but a little bit different. 00:06:16.568 --> 00:06:18.923 And then in v. 22-26, 00:06:18.923 --> 00:06:23.085 Jesus will apply this glorious truth 00:06:23.085 --> 00:06:24.725 to all of our lives 00:06:24.725 --> 00:06:27.617 and show us how it can be a reality. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:27.617 --> 00:06:29.056 So if you'll follow along 00:06:29.056 --> 00:06:31.832 as we read through God's holy Word. 00:06:31.832 --> 00:06:37.094 John 16:16-24. 00:06:37.094 --> 00:06:40.945 "A little while, and you will see Me no longer. 00:06:40.945 --> 00:06:44.286 And again a little while, and you will see Me. 00:06:44.286 --> 00:06:46.425 Some of His disciples said to one another, 00:06:46.425 --> 00:06:48.507 'What is this that He says to us? 00:06:48.507 --> 00:06:51.275 A little while and you will not see Me, 00:06:51.275 --> 00:06:52.736 and again a little while, 00:06:52.736 --> 00:06:54.586 and you will see Me? 00:06:54.586 --> 00:06:57.175 And because I'm going to the Father?' 00:06:57.175 --> 00:06:58.175 So they were saying, 00:06:58.175 --> 00:07:00.556 'What does He mean by a little while? 00:07:00.556 --> 00:07:03.545 We do not know what He's talking about.' 00:07:03.545 --> 00:07:06.721 (v. 19) Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him, 00:07:06.721 --> 00:07:07.861 so He said to them, 00:07:07.861 --> 00:07:09.820 'Is this what you're asking yourselves: 00:07:09.820 --> 00:07:11.730 What I meant by saying a little while 00:07:11.730 --> 00:07:13.421 and you will not see Me, 00:07:13.421 --> 00:07:14.629 and again a little while, 00:07:14.629 --> 00:07:16.609 and you will see Me? 00:07:16.609 --> 00:07:18.689 Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:07:18.689 --> 00:07:21.488 you will weep and lament, 00:07:21.488 --> 00:07:24.270 but the world will rejoice. 00:07:24.270 --> 00:07:26.099 You will be sorrowful, 00:07:26.099 --> 00:07:29.950 but your sorrow will turn into joy. 00:07:29.950 --> 00:07:31.429 When a woman is giving birth, 00:07:31.429 --> 00:07:34.000 she has sorrow because her hour has come. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.727 But when she has delivered the baby, 00:07:35.727 --> 00:07:38.549 she no longer remembers that anguish, 00:07:38.549 --> 00:07:42.029 for joy that a human being has been born 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:43.790 into the world. 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:46.499 So also, you have sorrow now, 00:07:46.499 --> 00:07:48.081 but I will see you again 00:07:48.081 --> 00:07:49.698 and your hearts will rejoice 00:07:49.698 --> 00:07:53.177 and no one will take your joy from you. 00:07:53.177 --> 00:07:56.599 In that day, you will ask nothing of Me. 00:07:56.599 --> 00:07:58.120 Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:00.529 whatever you ask of the Father in My name, 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:02.710 He will give it to you. 00:08:02.710 --> 00:08:07.299 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. 00:08:07.299 --> 00:08:10.377 Ask and you will receive 00:08:10.377 --> 00:08:16.561 that your joy may be full.'" NOTE Paragraph 00:08:16.561 --> 00:08:19.699 Let's just start walking through these verses. 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:22.149 In v. 16, Jesus says, "A little while 00:08:22.149 --> 00:08:24.558 and you will see Me no longer, 00:08:24.558 --> 00:08:27.742 and a little while, and you will see Me." 00:08:27.742 --> 00:08:29.491 The disciples do not understand 00:08:29.491 --> 00:08:32.022 what Jesus is talking about. 00:08:32.022 --> 00:08:35.143 And they begin to talk about that amongst themselves. 00:08:35.143 --> 00:08:36.377 Again, in v. 17, 00:08:36.377 --> 00:08:38.669 "So some of His disciples said to one another, 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:40.013 'What is this He says? 00:08:40.013 --> 00:08:41.973 A little while and you will not see Me? 00:08:41.973 --> 00:08:44.382 And again a little while and you will see Me?' 00:08:44.382 --> 00:08:46.121 And 'Because I go to the Father?'" 00:08:46.121 --> 00:08:47.403 That's what He was saying 00:08:47.403 --> 00:08:48.975 referenced back in v. 10 00:08:48.975 --> 00:08:51.674 when He's describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:08:51.674 --> 00:08:53.268 to the world. 00:08:53.268 --> 00:08:54.464 So they were saying, 00:08:54.464 --> 00:08:56.562 "What does He mean by a little while? 00:08:56.562 --> 00:08:59.006 We don't know what He's talking about." 00:08:59.006 --> 00:09:02.461 And in v. 19, "Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him." 00:09:02.461 --> 00:09:03.592 So He said to them, 00:09:03.592 --> 00:09:05.521 "Is this what you're asking yourselves? 00:09:05.521 --> 00:09:07.318 What I meant by saying a little while 00:09:07.318 --> 00:09:08.781 and you will not see Me again, 00:09:08.781 --> 00:09:11.693 and a little while and you will see Me?" NOTE Paragraph 00:09:11.693 --> 00:09:14.462 Now before we get to what Jesus means by this, 00:09:14.462 --> 00:09:16.278 I want us just to stop for a second 00:09:16.278 --> 00:09:18.750 and take note of something here. 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:22.172 Do you notice how tender and loving 00:09:22.172 --> 00:09:28.420 and patient Jesus is with the disciples? 00:09:28.420 --> 00:09:30.802 Beloved, we are a few hours from Jesus 00:09:30.802 --> 00:09:34.633 being nailed to the cross at this time 00:09:34.633 --> 00:09:37.201 where He will endure the wrath of God 00:09:37.201 --> 00:09:39.821 for His people's sin. 00:09:39.821 --> 00:09:42.421 And who is He mindful of? 00:09:42.421 --> 00:09:44.249 Who is He thinking about? 00:09:44.249 --> 00:09:46.373 Who is He concerned about being ready 00:09:46.373 --> 00:09:47.532 for that moment? 00:09:47.532 --> 00:09:49.132 Who does He want to prepare 00:09:49.132 --> 00:09:52.053 for what's about to come? 00:09:52.053 --> 00:09:54.160 The disciples. 00:09:54.160 --> 00:09:57.893 He is concerned about how this will affect them 00:09:57.893 --> 00:10:01.731 and He wants to make sure that they're ready. 00:10:01.731 --> 00:10:05.973 Just behold the self-sacrificing love 00:10:05.973 --> 00:10:09.275 of our Savior Jesus Christ. 00:10:09.275 --> 00:10:13.072 It is an amazing love. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:13.072 --> 00:10:14.952 What does Jesus mean when He says 00:10:14.952 --> 00:10:18.136 "a little while and you will not see Me again"? 00:10:18.136 --> 00:10:21.019 In v. 20 He explains it. Look at it. 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:22.818 "Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:10:22.818 --> 00:10:24.599 you will weep and lament, 00:10:24.599 --> 00:10:26.567 but the world will rejoice. 00:10:26.567 --> 00:10:27.985 You will be sorrowful, 00:10:27.985 --> 00:10:31.565 but your sorrow will turn into joy." 00:10:31.565 --> 00:10:34.076 By what Jesus says in the first half of this verse, 00:10:34.076 --> 00:10:36.901 we can understand what He's alluding to 00:10:36.901 --> 00:10:40.485 that in a little while will bring them sorrow. 00:10:40.485 --> 00:10:43.786 Something is happening soon circumstantially. 00:10:43.786 --> 00:10:45.168 The disciples will be tempted 00:10:45.168 --> 00:10:48.189 with hopelessness and despair. 00:10:48.189 --> 00:10:50.577 Weeping and lamenting. 00:10:50.577 --> 00:10:53.008 Because we have the full revelation 00:10:53.008 --> 00:10:54.307 of God's Word here, 00:10:54.307 --> 00:10:57.348 we know what He's talking about. 00:10:57.348 --> 00:11:01.188 He's talking about His death on the cross. 00:11:01.188 --> 00:11:03.348 This is confirmed when Jesus tells us 00:11:03.348 --> 00:11:05.257 the contrast to His death, 00:11:05.257 --> 00:11:07.488 that the world will have compared to 00:11:07.488 --> 00:11:09.537 what His disciples will have. 00:11:09.537 --> 00:11:11.958 At Jesus' death, the disciples 00:11:11.958 --> 00:11:14.260 seeing the Lord suffer and die, 00:11:14.260 --> 00:11:18.428 will be brought to weeping and lamenting. 00:11:18.428 --> 00:11:19.946 We have to remember something 00:11:19.946 --> 00:11:21.523 about the disciples at this time, 00:11:21.523 --> 00:11:23.478 where they're at in their thinking. 00:11:23.478 --> 00:11:25.794 They're not understanding all of this. 00:11:25.794 --> 00:11:28.288 They're still believing that when Messiah comes - 00:11:28.288 --> 00:11:30.031 and they believe Jesus is Messiah - 00:11:30.031 --> 00:11:32.317 but they're believing that when Messiah comes, 00:11:32.317 --> 00:11:34.877 He's going to instantly establish 00:11:34.877 --> 00:11:37.408 the full reality of His Kingdom. 00:11:37.408 --> 00:11:39.257 That's why earlier on in the Gospel, 00:11:39.257 --> 00:11:40.908 they're vying for position. 00:11:40.908 --> 00:11:43.078 Who gets to sit next to You in Your Kingdom? 00:11:43.078 --> 00:11:44.967 They believe it's coming here and now. 00:11:44.967 --> 00:11:47.337 They believe He's going to overthrow the Romans. 00:11:47.337 --> 00:11:50.011 He's going to overthrow the hypocritical Jewish leaders. 00:11:50.011 --> 00:11:51.506 He's going to establish Himself 00:11:51.506 --> 00:11:53.877 as King here and now. 00:11:53.877 --> 00:11:56.938 And then in a little bit here coming 00:11:56.938 --> 00:11:58.656 He's going to die. 00:11:58.656 --> 00:12:00.885 I mean, no doubt that they're going to weep 00:12:00.885 --> 00:12:02.195 not only in seeing Him die, 00:12:02.195 --> 00:12:04.818 but the confusion that all of this 00:12:04.818 --> 00:12:07.746 is going to bring to them. 00:12:07.746 --> 00:12:09.778 The world on the other hand, 00:12:09.778 --> 00:12:14.548 Jesus said will rejoice. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:14.548 --> 00:12:16.645 Why would the world rejoice 00:12:16.645 --> 00:12:19.346 at the death of Jesus Christ? 00:12:19.346 --> 00:12:21.256 You've read the Gospel of John. 00:12:21.256 --> 00:12:25.055 You know what Jesus says about the world in John 3. 00:12:25.055 --> 00:12:26.305 Listen to it. 00:12:26.305 --> 00:12:32.047 He says, "People love darkness 00:12:32.047 --> 00:12:34.295 rather than light, 00:12:34.295 --> 00:12:36.906 for their works are evil. 00:12:36.906 --> 00:12:39.306 For everyone who does wicked things 00:12:39.306 --> 00:12:41.568 hates the light 00:12:41.568 --> 00:12:43.271 and does not come to the light, 00:12:43.271 --> 00:12:49.388 lest his works be exposed." 00:12:49.388 --> 00:12:50.697 Saints, know this. 00:12:50.697 --> 00:12:55.378 Rejection of Jesus Christ is not an intellectual issue. 00:12:55.378 --> 00:12:57.762 It's a moral issue. 00:12:57.762 --> 00:13:01.847 It's a heart, affection, love issue. 00:13:01.847 --> 00:13:03.587 We need to know something about 00:13:03.587 --> 00:13:04.791 what Jesus has said here 00:13:04.791 --> 00:13:06.718 about the world and their hatred 00:13:06.718 --> 00:13:09.248 and their rejoicing when He's going to die. 00:13:09.248 --> 00:13:11.387 There are only two responses 00:13:11.387 --> 00:13:14.280 to Jesus Christ in the world. 00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:17.606 It's either hatred or it is love. 00:13:17.606 --> 00:13:19.824 There is no neutrality. 00:13:19.824 --> 00:13:21.209 There is no: you know what? 00:13:21.209 --> 00:13:23.791 He's a good teacher. I can deal with Jesus. 00:13:23.791 --> 00:13:24.521 No. 00:13:24.521 --> 00:13:26.666 There are two responses in the world. 00:13:26.666 --> 00:13:29.910 You either bow to Him as Lord and Savior 00:13:29.910 --> 00:13:33.257 and embrace Him in fullness of faith and love, 00:13:33.257 --> 00:13:36.007 or you reject Him in hatred 00:13:36.007 --> 00:13:37.790 and in love for your sin. 00:13:37.790 --> 00:13:41.607 And I would be wrong if I didn't stop and ask you this: 00:13:41.607 --> 00:13:47.225 Do you love Jesus? 00:13:47.225 --> 00:13:49.811 Do you love Him? 00:13:49.811 --> 00:13:52.237 You can't be indifferent towards Him. 00:13:52.237 --> 00:13:54.269 There's no middle ground. 00:13:54.269 --> 00:13:57.326 If you say I don't know if I really love Jesus, 00:13:57.326 --> 00:14:00.021 then the other alternative that the Scriptures lay out 00:14:00.021 --> 00:14:03.077 is you hate Him. 00:14:03.077 --> 00:14:05.784 And Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians 00:14:05.784 --> 00:14:15.386 if you don't love Jesus Christ, you're accursed. 00:14:15.386 --> 00:14:18.387 Jesus says to the disciples, 00:14:18.387 --> 00:14:20.260 "You will weep and lament, 00:14:20.260 --> 00:14:23.127 but the world will rejoice." NOTE Paragraph 00:14:23.127 --> 00:14:25.007 And then the second part of v. 20, 00:14:25.007 --> 00:14:29.017 He gets to the main truth of what's being taught here. 00:14:29.017 --> 00:14:31.509 He says, "You will be sorrowful" 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:32.838 to the disciples, 00:14:32.838 --> 00:14:37.457 "But your sorrow will turn into joy." 00:14:37.457 --> 00:14:39.337 Think about that for a moment. 00:14:39.337 --> 00:14:43.037 Sorrow turning into joy. 00:14:43.037 --> 00:14:45.648 If you and I can grasp what this means 00:14:45.648 --> 00:14:47.487 and what it does not mean - 00:14:47.487 --> 00:14:50.088 how sorrow turns into joy - 00:14:50.088 --> 00:14:52.457 then we're going to be able to experience 00:14:52.457 --> 00:14:55.346 what Jesus desires for us to experience, 00:14:55.346 --> 00:14:58.055 and that's found at the end of v. 26. 00:14:58.055 --> 00:14:59.717 This is where all this is leading. 00:14:59.717 --> 00:15:01.553 Look at the end of v. 26. 00:15:01.553 --> 00:15:04.179 What does Jesus desire for all of us? 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:08.657 "That your joy may be full." 00:15:08.657 --> 00:15:11.078 That's His end desire, His end aim, 00:15:11.078 --> 00:15:13.388 is that His disciples and all of us, 00:15:13.388 --> 00:15:17.260 that our joy would be full. 00:15:17.260 --> 00:15:19.888 There is an immediate application for the disciples 00:15:19.888 --> 00:15:22.607 that when they see Him crucified and dead, 00:15:22.607 --> 00:15:25.676 that they will have joy at His resurrection. 00:15:25.676 --> 00:15:28.258 But this truth that Jesus is teaching 00:15:28.258 --> 00:15:37.856 can be applied to all of life. 00:15:37.856 --> 00:15:40.280 The disciples are still not grasping 00:15:40.280 --> 00:15:41.535 what Jesus is teaching - 00:15:41.535 --> 00:15:44.108 that their sorrow will be turned to joy. 00:15:44.108 --> 00:15:47.787 So He uses an illustration in v. 21 00:15:47.787 --> 00:15:51.455 to help the disciples understand how. 00:15:51.455 --> 00:15:56.837 How is it that sorrow is turned into joy? 00:15:56.837 --> 00:15:58.771 Look at it in v. 21. 00:15:58.771 --> 00:16:00.968 "When a woman is giving birth, 00:16:00.968 --> 00:16:03.087 she has sorrow 00:16:03.087 --> 00:16:05.645 because her hour has come." 00:16:05.645 --> 00:16:07.647 That hour is the hour of delivery 00:16:07.647 --> 00:16:12.279 or we could say hours sometimes of delivery. 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:14.376 And it brings genuine real pain 00:16:14.376 --> 00:16:16.579 and because of that, sorrow. 00:16:16.579 --> 00:16:18.780 "When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow 00:16:18.780 --> 00:16:20.386 because her hour has come, 00:16:20.386 --> 00:16:23.908 but when she has delivered the baby, 00:16:23.908 --> 00:16:28.926 she no longer remembers the anguish 00:16:28.926 --> 00:16:31.757 for joy that a human being has been born 00:16:31.757 --> 00:16:34.137 into the world." 00:16:34.137 --> 00:16:36.416 See, the delivering of the baby is something 00:16:36.416 --> 00:16:38.044 the disciples can relate to. 00:16:38.044 --> 00:16:40.258 It's something that many of you can relate to. 00:16:40.258 --> 00:16:41.784 There are many children in here. 00:16:41.784 --> 00:16:45.050 God has blessed many of us with many children. 00:16:45.050 --> 00:16:47.257 Some of you by firsthand experience - 00:16:47.257 --> 00:16:49.924 the women here - or by secondhand as a father, 00:16:49.924 --> 00:16:51.727 you've witnessed this. 00:16:51.727 --> 00:16:56.418 You've seen a mother go into delivery. 00:16:56.418 --> 00:16:59.287 And often they're brought to tears 00:16:59.287 --> 00:17:01.567 in pain, in anguish. 00:17:01.567 --> 00:17:04.128 But once that baby is born, 00:17:04.128 --> 00:17:07.439 those tears of pain and anguish turn. 00:17:07.439 --> 00:17:12.598 And they turn into tears of joy. 00:17:12.598 --> 00:17:15.032 And that's glorious here. 00:17:15.032 --> 00:17:18.630 But I want to ask one really important question 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:22.048 to help us tonight. 00:17:22.048 --> 00:17:26.086 Why does the mother have joy? 00:17:26.086 --> 00:17:32.876 Is it because the sorrow and anguish was gone? 00:17:32.876 --> 00:17:35.879 No. 00:17:35.879 --> 00:17:37.988 She doesn't have joy because the sorrow 00:17:37.988 --> 00:17:39.239 and the anguish are gone. 00:17:39.239 --> 00:17:42.097 It's still there. 00:17:42.097 --> 00:17:43.457 What's happened? 00:17:43.457 --> 00:17:44.819 The sorrow and anguish 00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:48.048 has been swallowed up 00:17:48.048 --> 00:17:52.079 in the joy of the baby. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.178 See, this is really important. 00:17:54.178 --> 00:17:55.668 She doesn't have joy 00:17:55.668 --> 00:17:57.987 because all of a sudden the pain was gone. 00:17:57.987 --> 00:18:00.228 The pain is still there. 00:18:00.228 --> 00:18:01.998 It's there at that moment. 00:18:01.998 --> 00:18:05.304 But she is instantly filled with joy. 00:18:05.304 --> 00:18:07.818 Her sorrow turned into joy 00:18:07.818 --> 00:18:10.949 and it wasn't because the sorrow left her, 00:18:10.949 --> 00:18:14.298 it's because the sorrow was swallowed up 00:18:14.298 --> 00:18:19.828 in the joy of the baby. 00:18:19.828 --> 00:18:22.641 That's an important truth. 00:18:22.641 --> 00:18:24.320 And I'm going to try to carry that 00:18:24.320 --> 00:18:28.487 as we work through the rest of the text here. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:28.487 --> 00:18:31.997 In v. 22, Jesus applies the illustration. 00:18:31.997 --> 00:18:35.456 He says, "So also, you disciples 00:18:35.456 --> 00:18:37.846 (us here - just like the mother giving birth) 00:18:37.846 --> 00:18:40.348 you have sorrow now..." 00:18:40.348 --> 00:18:42.378 Speaking of when He's going to die. 00:18:42.378 --> 00:18:44.256 "But I will see you again 00:18:44.256 --> 00:18:47.768 and your hearts will rejoice." 00:18:47.768 --> 00:18:50.847 Again, the disciples will have sorrow when Jesus dies, 00:18:50.847 --> 00:18:52.591 but when He rises from the dead 00:18:52.591 --> 00:18:53.798 and they see Him again, 00:18:53.798 --> 00:18:55.475 their hearts are going to rejoice. 00:18:55.475 --> 00:18:57.813 Yes, because He was gone 00:18:57.813 --> 00:18:58.916 and now He lives, 00:18:58.916 --> 00:19:01.587 but they're going to rejoice beyond that moment 00:19:01.587 --> 00:19:03.817 in that reality, and here's why: 00:19:03.817 --> 00:19:06.390 Because they're going to be growing from then on 00:19:06.390 --> 00:19:08.197 until they enter into eternity 00:19:08.197 --> 00:19:11.724 of what that resurrection meant. 00:19:11.724 --> 00:19:13.197 Yes, they're going to miss Him. 00:19:13.197 --> 00:19:15.007 They're going to weep that He's died. 00:19:15.007 --> 00:19:16.276 He's in the tomb. 00:19:16.276 --> 00:19:18.518 And they'll rejoice when they see Him again, 00:19:18.518 --> 00:19:20.591 but when they begin to grasp 00:19:20.591 --> 00:19:23.108 more and more and more 00:19:23.108 --> 00:19:24.329 as life goes on 00:19:24.329 --> 00:19:26.747 by the revelation of the Spirit 00:19:26.747 --> 00:19:29.736 what that resurrection meant, 00:19:29.736 --> 00:19:32.377 the joy of that resurrection 00:19:32.377 --> 00:19:37.677 will be able to be applied to their entire life. 00:19:37.677 --> 00:19:39.583 It's not a one time thing. 00:19:39.583 --> 00:19:41.949 Oh, we saw Him and we're happy. Move on. 00:19:41.949 --> 00:19:45.081 What's tied up in that reality 00:19:45.081 --> 00:19:50.078 is joy for the rest of life. 00:19:50.078 --> 00:19:52.167 This joy Jesus is talking about 00:19:52.167 --> 00:19:54.575 is like what the mother experienced, 00:19:54.575 --> 00:19:56.299 but it's better. 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:57.376 You know why? 00:19:57.376 --> 00:20:00.677 Because of what He says at the end of v. 22. 00:20:00.677 --> 00:20:04.574 "No one can take it from you." 00:20:04.574 --> 00:20:07.918 No one can take this joy from you. 00:20:07.918 --> 00:20:10.957 You see, the joy the mother has in the moment, 00:20:10.957 --> 00:20:14.927 swallows up the pain of the delivery. 00:20:14.927 --> 00:20:17.708 But that joy can fade. 00:20:17.708 --> 00:20:19.959 Babies die. 00:20:19.959 --> 00:20:24.198 Children die. Relationships are broken. 00:20:24.198 --> 00:20:26.428 The joy Jesus is speaking about 00:20:26.428 --> 00:20:28.328 to the disciples and to us, 00:20:28.328 --> 00:20:36.848 it's an eternal joy. 00:20:36.848 --> 00:20:39.848 Real joy. 00:20:39.848 --> 00:20:42.378 This isn't just joy for when the disciples 00:20:42.378 --> 00:20:44.564 are sorrowful over the death of Jesus. 00:20:44.564 --> 00:20:46.766 This is joy that's with them forever 00:20:46.766 --> 00:20:50.986 through all of life's sorrows. 00:20:50.986 --> 00:20:55.016 This is a sorrow-conquering joy 00:20:55.016 --> 00:20:57.060 that is for every believer 00:20:57.060 --> 00:21:01.478 and that never leaves us. 00:21:01.478 --> 00:21:04.318 Real joy and fullness therein 00:21:04.318 --> 00:21:06.827 is available to every one of us 00:21:06.827 --> 00:21:09.427 despite our circumstances - 00:21:09.427 --> 00:21:14.839 even the most bleak of circumstances. 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:16.218 And when I say that to you, 00:21:16.218 --> 00:21:18.198 it gets a little bit personal. 00:21:18.198 --> 00:21:19.847 Because I want to ask you this: 00:21:19.847 --> 00:21:22.167 Do you really believe that? 00:21:22.167 --> 00:21:25.237 Honestly? 00:21:25.237 --> 00:21:28.607 That fullness of joy is available 00:21:28.607 --> 00:21:30.456 to every believer 00:21:30.456 --> 00:21:37.561 despite how bleak the circumstances seem? 00:21:37.561 --> 00:21:39.607 I know when I ask a question like that, 00:21:39.607 --> 00:21:41.333 that we're dealing with real pain 00:21:41.333 --> 00:21:42.448 and real sorrow. 00:21:42.448 --> 00:21:44.017 I know we're dealing with things 00:21:44.017 --> 00:21:48.320 like being offended by others. 00:21:48.320 --> 00:21:54.247 I know we're dealing with things like cancer. 00:21:54.247 --> 00:21:55.868 I know we're dealing with things 00:21:55.868 --> 00:22:00.397 like living in continual pain day after day 00:22:00.397 --> 00:22:02.848 because of physical struggles. 00:22:02.848 --> 00:22:05.417 I know we're dealing with broken relationships 00:22:05.417 --> 00:22:08.359 and broken marriages. 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.397 I know we're dealing with injustice. 00:22:10.397 --> 00:22:12.798 I know we're dealing with spiritual warfare. 00:22:12.798 --> 00:22:21.121 I know we're dealing with death. 00:22:21.121 --> 00:22:25.812 Those are real pains and real sorrows. 00:22:25.812 --> 00:22:27.933 And I have a question for us all. 00:22:27.933 --> 00:22:30.057 If Jesus is speaking of a joy 00:22:30.057 --> 00:22:34.037 that no one can take from us, 00:22:34.037 --> 00:22:42.430 why aren't we experiencing it all the time? 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:48.497 I think everyone in here wants joy. 00:22:48.497 --> 00:22:50.548 I think the answer is because 00:22:50.548 --> 00:22:53.617 in our practical, street- level Christian living 00:22:53.617 --> 00:22:55.967 of our everyday lives, 00:22:55.967 --> 00:22:59.327 where we experience suffering and pain, 00:22:59.327 --> 00:23:02.237 we really struggle to see how joy 00:23:02.237 --> 00:23:04.416 can be truly experienced 00:23:04.416 --> 00:23:11.018 in the midst of sorrow, pain, and anguish. 00:23:11.018 --> 00:23:14.946 And we have begun at times to believe 00:23:14.946 --> 00:23:17.917 that if we're really going to experience true joy, 00:23:17.917 --> 00:23:20.808 it must be at the removal 00:23:20.808 --> 00:23:26.616 of sorrow, pain, and anguish. NOTE Paragraph 00:23:26.616 --> 00:23:30.516 In v. 23 and 24, Jesus is going to teach the disciples 00:23:30.516 --> 00:23:33.608 a really important theological shift 00:23:33.608 --> 00:23:37.017 that's going to take place in light of the resurrection. 00:23:37.017 --> 00:23:41.007 It will help us see how we can approach the Father 00:23:41.007 --> 00:23:43.007 regarding these things. 00:23:43.007 --> 00:23:45.995 And we need to understand that. 00:23:45.995 --> 00:23:48.439 But because the aim of v. 24 00:23:48.439 --> 00:23:50.967 is that our joy would be full, 00:23:50.967 --> 00:23:53.237 but it's also going to teach us another thing 00:23:53.237 --> 00:23:56.637 and that is this: what's the source of joy. 00:23:56.637 --> 00:23:59.077 What's the source of joy? 00:23:59.077 --> 00:24:01.697 We need to know how we need to approach the Father 00:24:01.697 --> 00:24:04.275 if we're going to have this joy that's set before us. 00:24:04.275 --> 00:24:06.251 But we need to understand importantly too 00:24:06.251 --> 00:24:07.916 what's the source of joy. 00:24:07.916 --> 00:24:09.500 And to help us think about that, 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:11.807 I'm going to go back to the illustration again 00:24:11.807 --> 00:24:16.179 and just drive the point home one more time for you. NOTE Paragraph 00:24:16.179 --> 00:24:18.787 In the illustration Jesus gave, 00:24:18.787 --> 00:24:20.738 the woman was in the midst of sorrow - 00:24:20.738 --> 00:24:22.757 true physical pain - 00:24:22.757 --> 00:24:26.110 and then her sorrow turned into joy. 00:24:26.110 --> 00:24:33.576 And it wasn't because the sorrow was removed. 00:24:33.576 --> 00:24:37.227 It was swallowed up in the joy of the baby. 00:24:37.227 --> 00:24:41.118 And Jesus teaching us how to come to the Father 00:24:41.118 --> 00:24:43.438 after the resurrection, 00:24:43.438 --> 00:24:46.232 He's going to be teaching us the source of joy. 00:24:46.232 --> 00:24:47.647 And let me tell you this, 00:24:47.647 --> 00:24:50.958 the source of joy is not the removal 00:24:50.958 --> 00:24:56.993 of pain, sorrow, and anguish. 00:24:56.993 --> 00:24:59.411 In this life, you're guaranteed 00:24:59.411 --> 00:25:02.598 constant pain, sorrow, and anguish. 00:25:02.598 --> 00:25:05.908 Yet, here Jesus holds out before us 00:25:05.908 --> 00:25:12.937 eternal joy and fullness thereof. 00:25:12.937 --> 00:25:15.718 I think most of us are getting this wrong 00:25:15.718 --> 00:25:19.268 and I'll help you to diagnose if you're like me often. 00:25:19.268 --> 00:25:23.602 Regarding your pain, sorrow, and anguish, 00:25:23.602 --> 00:25:27.627 how do you pray about that? 00:25:27.627 --> 00:25:30.270 If you're like me, 00:25:30.270 --> 00:25:35.761 most of my prayers regarding my pain, sorrow, and anguish 00:25:35.761 --> 00:25:40.237 are: God, I want to have joy, 00:25:40.237 --> 00:25:44.837 so I need You to remove the pain, 00:25:44.837 --> 00:25:49.129 the sorrow, the anguish, or the source of it. 00:25:49.129 --> 00:25:52.749 I spend a lot of my prayer time there. 00:25:52.749 --> 00:25:54.535 I want to be careful here. 00:25:54.535 --> 00:25:57.097 I'm not implying it's wrong to pray 00:25:57.097 --> 00:26:01.293 for healing or for God to remove those things. 00:26:01.293 --> 00:26:04.873 I'm not implying that at all. 00:26:04.873 --> 00:26:07.712 But I think it's really important 00:26:07.712 --> 00:26:11.480 that we see as we look through the lens of Scripture 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.279 the normative means through which God 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:19.393 brings joy to us is not the removal 00:26:19.393 --> 00:26:22.302 of pain, sorrow, and anguish - 00:26:22.302 --> 00:26:25.153 it's by giving us joy in the midst 00:26:25.153 --> 00:26:27.403 of pain, sorrow, and anguish 00:26:27.403 --> 00:26:33.522 by giving us Jesus. 00:26:33.522 --> 00:26:38.309 Saints, there's something more - better - 00:26:38.309 --> 00:26:40.863 than the removal of pain. 00:26:40.863 --> 00:26:45.123 It's Jesus in the midst of pain. 00:26:45.123 --> 00:26:47.413 And when we really struggle to see that, 00:26:47.413 --> 00:26:49.446 to believe that because the pain is real, 00:26:49.446 --> 00:26:50.780 but I want you to know this: 00:26:50.780 --> 00:26:55.901 Jesus is more real. 00:26:55.901 --> 00:27:00.462 God gets glory by removing pain and sorrow. 00:27:00.462 --> 00:27:03.333 He gets glory by healing, but I want you to know this, 00:27:03.333 --> 00:27:06.052 God gets even more glory 00:27:06.052 --> 00:27:10.583 when He swallows up pain with joy. 00:27:10.583 --> 00:27:12.272 I mean tell me what looks better 00:27:12.272 --> 00:27:14.413 from a world's persective: 00:27:14.413 --> 00:27:17.013 to see someone who circumstantially 00:27:17.013 --> 00:27:19.091 has no basis for joy? 00:27:19.091 --> 00:27:20.912 And is in full pain? 00:27:20.912 --> 00:27:26.842 Yet they're unexplainably rejoicing? 00:27:26.842 --> 00:27:28.801 That gives God glory. 00:27:28.801 --> 00:27:31.012 You know what else it forces the world to do? 00:27:31.012 --> 00:27:32.733 It forces the world to come to you 00:27:32.733 --> 00:27:35.843 and say, hey, what is the source of the hope 00:27:35.843 --> 00:27:37.712 that is within you? 00:27:37.712 --> 00:27:39.760 Because they can't see the circumstance - 00:27:39.760 --> 00:27:41.431 in fact, they see a circumstance 00:27:41.431 --> 00:27:42.984 that should lead to grumbling 00:27:42.984 --> 00:27:45.181 and complaining and whining, 00:27:45.181 --> 00:27:48.722 yet they're seeing joy. 00:27:48.722 --> 00:27:50.053 And when they ask you that, 00:27:50.053 --> 00:27:53.013 you get to stand up and you get to say this: 00:27:53.013 --> 00:27:57.274 Jesus Christ is the source of my joy 00:27:57.274 --> 00:28:02.232 in the midst of my sorrow and pain. 00:28:02.232 --> 00:28:09.723 Saints, God looks good in that scenario. 00:28:09.723 --> 00:28:12.304 I just want to say it again to be pastoral. 00:28:12.304 --> 00:28:14.324 I am not saying it's wrong 00:28:14.324 --> 00:28:16.813 to pray for healing. 00:28:16.813 --> 00:28:19.234 "Father, if this cup could pass from Me." 00:28:19.234 --> 00:28:24.582 It's not wrong to pray that these things would pass. 00:28:24.582 --> 00:28:29.912 But I do want us to think about praying: 00:28:29.912 --> 00:28:32.112 Give me Jesus. 00:28:32.112 --> 00:28:34.615 Give me that which is better than physical healing - 00:28:34.615 --> 00:28:36.667 Jesus in the midst of healing - 00:28:36.667 --> 00:28:43.667 that You might look good. NOTE Paragraph 00:28:43.667 --> 00:28:47.636 How are we to approach the Father? 00:28:47.636 --> 00:28:50.584 V. 23, "In that day..." 00:28:50.584 --> 00:28:52.636 that's after the resurrection, 00:28:52.636 --> 00:28:54.200 "You will ask nothing of Me," 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:56.133 Jesus says to the disciples. 00:28:56.133 --> 00:28:57.236 Let me ask you this: 00:28:57.236 --> 00:29:02.143 Why will the disciples ask nothing of Jesus? 00:29:02.143 --> 00:29:03.716 He's leaving. 00:29:03.716 --> 00:29:05.633 He's not going to be there physically. 00:29:05.633 --> 00:29:07.803 That's one reason, but it's deeper than that. 00:29:07.803 --> 00:29:10.058 This is a theological shift. 00:29:10.058 --> 00:29:12.512 It's more than just Jesus ascending into heaven. 00:29:12.512 --> 00:29:16.347 There's a theological shift occurring here. 00:29:16.347 --> 00:29:18.074 Jesus is going to go to the Father 00:29:18.074 --> 00:29:19.152 and up until this time 00:29:19.152 --> 00:29:21.114 the disciples have been able to turn to Jesus 00:29:21.114 --> 00:29:22.552 and say, Jesus, what should we do here? 00:29:22.552 --> 00:29:23.514 Jesus, give is this - 00:29:23.514 --> 00:29:25.372 and He's been able to answer that for them. 00:29:25.372 --> 00:29:26.753 But now what Jesus is doing 00:29:26.753 --> 00:29:29.921 is He's teaching them a theological shift. 00:29:29.921 --> 00:29:31.833 Look at v. 23. 00:29:31.833 --> 00:29:33.253 "Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:29:33.253 --> 00:29:35.261 whatever you ask of the Father 00:29:35.261 --> 00:29:37.264 in My name..." 00:29:37.264 --> 00:29:38.615 That's the shift. 00:29:38.615 --> 00:29:40.479 They have prayed to the Father before. 00:29:40.479 --> 00:29:42.444 Now, Jesus said to them whatever you ask 00:29:42.444 --> 00:29:44.193 of the Father in My name, 00:29:44.193 --> 00:29:46.483 He will give it to you. 00:29:46.483 --> 00:29:49.471 "Until now, you have asked nothing in My name. 00:29:49.471 --> 00:29:51.033 Ask and you will receive 00:29:51.033 --> 00:29:54.481 that your joy may be full." 00:29:54.481 --> 00:29:56.855 What doctrine is Jesus teaching here? 00:29:56.855 --> 00:29:59.394 The doctrine of mediation. 00:29:59.394 --> 00:30:02.706 The doctrine that through His death, burial, and resurrection 00:30:02.706 --> 00:30:05.604 He has reconciled once and for all 00:30:05.604 --> 00:30:07.634 a holy God to sinful man, 00:30:07.634 --> 00:30:09.583 and He is the means through which 00:30:09.583 --> 00:30:11.554 this reconciliation took place. 00:30:11.554 --> 00:30:13.840 And He wants them to acknowledge that 00:30:13.840 --> 00:30:15.685 that when they come to the Father, 00:30:15.685 --> 00:30:17.833 they come to Him in Jesus' name, 00:30:17.833 --> 00:30:22.223 acknowledging all that Jesus has accomplished. NOTE Paragraph 00:30:22.223 --> 00:30:24.304 If we're going to pray this prayer right, 00:30:24.304 --> 00:30:26.453 and in the end have fullness of joy 00:30:26.453 --> 00:30:28.332 in the midst of our pain and sorrow, 00:30:28.332 --> 00:30:30.052 we need to know what does it mean 00:30:30.052 --> 00:30:31.933 to pray in Jesus' name. 00:30:31.933 --> 00:30:34.284 I'm going to tell you at least three things it means. 00:30:34.284 --> 00:30:36.206 It means probably more, but at least three. 00:30:36.206 --> 00:30:37.995 The first thing it means is this: 00:30:37.995 --> 00:30:41.756 you're not coming in your name. 00:30:41.756 --> 00:30:43.916 Praying in Jesus' name means 00:30:43.916 --> 00:30:46.699 you're not coming in your name. 00:30:46.699 --> 00:30:48.737 It means this: I'm not coming and saying 00:30:48.737 --> 00:30:50.814 Father, I know You'll be pleased with me. 00:30:50.814 --> 00:30:52.759 I read my Bible seven days this week. 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:55.553 And I increased my prayer time by 30 minutes. 00:30:55.553 --> 00:30:56.483 Did You see that? 00:30:56.483 --> 00:30:58.144 And I did witness to that person, 00:30:58.144 --> 00:30:59.103 so here I am. 00:30:59.103 --> 00:31:00.871 I know You're going to give me favor. 00:31:00.871 --> 00:31:02.454 That's coming in my name. 00:31:02.454 --> 00:31:05.451 That's not coming in Jesus' name. 00:31:05.451 --> 00:31:06.959 And Jesus' name does mean 00:31:06.959 --> 00:31:08.332 that when we come, we say, 00:31:08.332 --> 00:31:11.855 Father, I recognize that it's through Jesus' shed blood 00:31:11.855 --> 00:31:13.133 that I am cleansed. 00:31:13.133 --> 00:31:14.782 It is through His righteousness 00:31:14.782 --> 00:31:16.782 that I am declared righteous, 00:31:16.782 --> 00:31:17.761 received by faith, 00:31:17.761 --> 00:31:19.312 and I come in His name. 00:31:19.314 --> 00:31:21.083 But it means at least one more thing, 00:31:21.083 --> 00:31:22.513 that if we're going to come 00:31:22.513 --> 00:31:24.023 in the name of Jesus, 00:31:24.023 --> 00:31:27.025 that we're going to come with all that Jesus is 00:31:27.025 --> 00:31:32.323 and that means that align our will to His will. 00:31:32.323 --> 00:31:34.193 And all throughout the Gospel of John - 00:31:34.193 --> 00:31:36.185 if you've read it before, you know this - 00:31:36.185 --> 00:31:37.784 what is the will of Jesus Christ? 00:31:37.784 --> 00:31:40.444 It is to do the will of the Father. 00:31:40.444 --> 00:31:42.362 So if we're coming in Jesus' name 00:31:42.362 --> 00:31:44.403 to the Father as Jesus tells us here, 00:31:44.403 --> 00:31:45.592 it's not in my name, 00:31:45.592 --> 00:31:46.985 not in my accomplishments, 00:31:46.985 --> 00:31:48.611 not in my own righteousness. 00:31:48.611 --> 00:31:50.964 It's in His name, it's in His shed blood. 00:31:50.964 --> 00:31:52.564 It is in His righteousness. 00:31:52.564 --> 00:31:55.023 And it's in align with His will 00:31:55.023 --> 00:31:56.362 which means now I'm in line 00:31:56.362 --> 00:31:58.294 with the Father's will. 00:31:58.294 --> 00:32:00.212 And did you take note here 00:32:00.212 --> 00:32:05.463 of what Jesus said after that? 00:32:05.463 --> 00:32:08.524 "Whatever we ask of the Father..." 00:32:08.524 --> 00:32:15.782 in Jesus' name, He will give it to you. 00:32:15.782 --> 00:32:19.766 He will give it to you. 00:32:19.766 --> 00:32:21.981 This is a verse that the health, wealth, 00:32:21.981 --> 00:32:27.933 and prosperity heretics lay hold of. 00:32:27.933 --> 00:32:32.714 They say, see, Jesus wants you to have fullness of joy. 00:32:32.714 --> 00:32:35.816 And they say, see, if you come to Him 00:32:35.816 --> 00:32:38.963 in Jesus' name, He'll give it to you. 00:32:38.963 --> 00:32:41.810 And they see at the beginning of the text here 00:32:41.810 --> 00:32:43.770 that they were in sorrow 00:32:43.770 --> 00:32:46.532 and God's bringing them to fullness of joy 00:32:46.532 --> 00:32:48.953 and all they need to do is come here in the middle 00:32:48.953 --> 00:32:50.322 and say "in Jesus' name" 00:32:50.322 --> 00:32:52.305 and He'll do whatever they ask. 00:32:52.305 --> 00:32:54.214 So they look at this verse and they say 00:32:54.214 --> 00:32:55.812 "in the name of Jesus... 00:32:55.812 --> 00:32:57.814 take away all my sorrow, 00:32:57.814 --> 00:32:59.213 all my sickness, 00:32:59.213 --> 00:33:00.642 all my suffering; 00:33:00.642 --> 00:33:02.014 in the name of Jesus 00:33:02.014 --> 00:33:03.603 give me prosperity, 00:33:03.603 --> 00:33:04.953 give me things, 00:33:04.953 --> 00:33:10.517 and in that, I will have fullness of joy." 00:33:10.517 --> 00:33:12.744 Is that what the verse means? 00:33:12.744 --> 00:33:17.963 No, it's not what the verse means. 00:33:17.963 --> 00:33:21.553 Joy's not tied to circumstances. 00:33:21.553 --> 00:33:25.603 And joy's not found in the removal 00:33:25.603 --> 00:33:28.362 of sorrow, pain, and suffering. 00:33:28.362 --> 00:33:31.250 Joy is not found in the things 00:33:31.250 --> 00:33:32.742 that God can give you. 00:33:32.742 --> 00:33:38.890 Joy is found in the giving of Jesus Christ. 00:33:38.890 --> 00:33:42.673 Joy is found in interpreting all of life 00:33:42.673 --> 00:33:45.744 through the resurrected Savior. 00:33:45.744 --> 00:33:47.583 Joy is seeing my sorrow 00:33:47.583 --> 00:33:50.183 in light of what Jesus has accomplished 00:33:50.183 --> 00:33:53.014 and what His work is in me now. 00:33:53.014 --> 00:33:54.903 What God answers in this prayer is 00:33:54.903 --> 00:33:57.509 He does give us fullness of joy, 00:33:57.509 --> 00:33:59.864 but He doesn't do it by removing 00:33:59.864 --> 00:34:03.462 our sorrow most of the time. 00:34:03.462 --> 00:34:05.803 He does it by giving you Jesus 00:34:05.803 --> 00:34:07.332 in the midst of your sorrow 00:34:07.332 --> 00:34:10.204 which will bring you to fullness of joy 00:34:10.204 --> 00:34:13.770 and will crowd out and force you to forget 00:34:13.770 --> 00:34:17.292 about the anguish that you're experiencing 00:34:17.292 --> 00:34:21.593 because Jesus is greater. 00:34:21.593 --> 00:34:25.844 Saints, when we rightly approach the Father in Jesus' name 00:34:25.844 --> 00:34:29.843 we're asking what we sang a few moments ago. 00:34:29.843 --> 00:34:32.363 Show us Christ. 00:34:32.363 --> 00:34:35.301 Help me to see Jesus. 00:34:35.301 --> 00:34:38.183 Help me to see who I am 00:34:38.183 --> 00:34:40.932 in light of that death, burial, and resurrection. 00:34:40.932 --> 00:34:46.769 Help me to see who I am in union to Him. 00:34:46.769 --> 00:34:50.741 See, this truth will help the disciples, 00:34:50.741 --> 00:34:56.522 but it's true for all of our lives. NOTE Paragraph 00:34:56.522 --> 00:35:00.122 What about in the circumstance of death? 00:35:00.122 --> 00:35:02.373 Death is real. Death hurts. 00:35:02.373 --> 00:35:04.012 Whether it's someone close to us 00:35:04.012 --> 00:35:05.773 or even our own, 00:35:05.773 --> 00:35:08.478 how can the Father give you joy 00:35:08.478 --> 00:35:11.260 in the face of death? 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:13.463 By helping you realize 00:35:13.463 --> 00:35:15.987 that Christ has conquered death 00:35:15.987 --> 00:35:17.642 through His resurrection. 00:35:17.642 --> 00:35:19.263 By helping you see 00:35:19.263 --> 00:35:22.813 that death no longer has a sting anymore. 00:35:22.813 --> 00:35:24.612 It's been swallowed up 00:35:24.612 --> 00:35:26.613 through Jesus conquering it, 00:35:26.613 --> 00:35:29.512 and that death is not the end for the believer. 00:35:29.512 --> 00:35:32.189 Death is the beginning of all things. 00:35:32.189 --> 00:35:34.473 And we begin to look through the lens 00:35:34.473 --> 00:35:36.675 of Jesus Christ in all of life, 00:35:36.675 --> 00:35:38.512 no matter what the sorrow is, 00:35:38.512 --> 00:35:40.571 we can have fullness of joy 00:35:40.571 --> 00:35:49.443 if we're looking through the lens of Jesus Christ. 00:35:49.443 --> 00:35:51.492 Beloved, the joy of Jesus surpasses 00:35:51.492 --> 00:35:54.963 the most difficult of circumstances. 00:35:54.963 --> 00:35:59.184 In John 15, Jesus told the disciples, 00:35:59.184 --> 00:36:02.080 "the world will hate you 00:36:02.080 --> 00:36:04.583 because they hated Me." 00:36:04.583 --> 00:36:05.912 And then He told them this: 00:36:05.912 --> 00:36:09.362 but you're to be witnesses to them. 00:36:09.362 --> 00:36:10.829 And then He told them this: 00:36:10.829 --> 00:36:13.190 The way that they'll demonstrate their hate to you 00:36:13.190 --> 00:36:15.595 is that they're going to put you out of the synagogue, 00:36:15.595 --> 00:36:18.662 and they'll even kill you. 00:36:18.662 --> 00:36:21.216 They'll even kill you. 00:36:21.216 --> 00:36:25.223 Well, where's the joy of Jesus in that? 00:36:25.223 --> 00:36:27.028 That's a pretty bleak circumstance. 00:36:27.028 --> 00:36:28.983 You're going to live in a world of people 00:36:28.983 --> 00:36:30.941 that hate you and they hate the message 00:36:30.941 --> 00:36:32.294 that you're going to bring. 00:36:32.294 --> 00:36:34.083 They're going to put you out of the synagogue 00:36:34.083 --> 00:36:35.241 and they're going to kill you. 00:36:35.241 --> 00:36:40.644 Is there joy available in the midst of that circumstance? 00:36:40.644 --> 00:36:43.975 Have you read Acts 5? 00:36:43.975 --> 00:36:45.844 When they went out and they preached 00:36:45.844 --> 00:36:47.291 in the name of Jesus Christ 00:36:47.291 --> 00:36:49.803 and they were beaten for it. 00:36:49.803 --> 00:36:53.612 And it says that they left the council what? 00:36:53.612 --> 00:36:56.644 Rejoicing that they were counted worthy 00:36:56.644 --> 00:36:59.740 to suffer for the name. 00:36:59.740 --> 00:37:03.392 Beloved, every area of life, 00:37:03.392 --> 00:37:05.228 if we commit it to the Father 00:37:05.228 --> 00:37:06.704 in the name of Jesus, 00:37:06.704 --> 00:37:10.639 and He grants to us the greater revelation of Jesus, 00:37:10.639 --> 00:37:14.262 we can have joy in the midst of suffering 00:37:14.262 --> 00:37:19.093 which is better than even the removal of the pain. 00:37:19.093 --> 00:37:20.756 This is our Gospel message. 00:37:20.756 --> 00:37:25.052 This is our life between the now and the not yet. 00:37:25.052 --> 00:37:26.913 This is what's available to us. 00:37:26.913 --> 00:37:30.629 Jesus demonstrated this to us, didn't He? 00:37:30.629 --> 00:37:34.221 I mean, He faced the greatest anguish and suffering 00:37:34.221 --> 00:37:36.383 any human being will ever face 00:37:36.383 --> 00:37:38.964 under the wrath of God for His people, 00:37:38.964 --> 00:37:41.244 and what does the writer of Hebrews tell us? 00:37:41.244 --> 00:37:43.372 For the what that was set before Him? 00:37:43.372 --> 00:37:45.843 For the joy that was set before Him, 00:37:45.843 --> 00:37:47.855 He endured the cross. 00:37:47.855 --> 00:37:50.048 It doesn't mean the cross didn't hurt. 00:37:50.048 --> 00:37:52.112 It doesn't mean your pain is not real. 00:37:52.112 --> 00:37:54.716 The Bible never says put on a fake smile 00:37:54.716 --> 00:37:57.108 and act like Jesus is good. 00:37:57.108 --> 00:37:59.323 That's not what we're talking about here. 00:37:59.323 --> 00:38:01.552 The Bible acknowledges pain. 00:38:01.552 --> 00:38:03.303 It acknowledges suffering. 00:38:03.303 --> 00:38:05.482 It sets proper expectations, 00:38:05.482 --> 00:38:07.593 but it says this to you: 00:38:07.593 --> 00:38:09.725 I can give you joy in the midst of it 00:38:09.725 --> 00:38:12.154 by giving you more of Jesus - 00:38:12.154 --> 00:38:15.452 a greater revelation of the sufficiency 00:38:15.452 --> 00:38:18.382 and the love of Jesus Christ, 00:38:18.382 --> 00:38:22.763 and in that there's fullness of joy. 00:38:22.763 --> 00:38:29.802 This is a supernatural joy. NOTE Paragraph 00:38:29.802 --> 00:38:33.069 I'm going to close by telling you this: 00:38:33.069 --> 00:38:36.672 When you come to the Father in Jesus' name, 00:38:36.672 --> 00:38:39.424 and you ask for Him to grant you 00:38:39.424 --> 00:38:43.574 fullness of joy in Jesus Christ, 00:38:43.574 --> 00:38:46.757 He accomplishes that 00:38:46.757 --> 00:38:50.803 by the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:38:50.803 --> 00:38:53.312 through the Word 00:38:53.312 --> 00:38:56.211 glorifying the Son. 00:38:56.211 --> 00:38:57.953 I want you to look, before we close, 00:38:57.953 --> 00:39:02.664 look back at chapter 16:14. 00:39:02.664 --> 00:39:04.554 This is the verse where Jesus 00:39:04.554 --> 00:39:07.317 is describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:39:07.317 --> 00:39:08.784 to the church. 00:39:08.784 --> 00:39:10.333 Jesus is saying I'm leaving you, 00:39:10.333 --> 00:39:12.862 but He'll send you another Helper - the Paraclete. 00:39:12.862 --> 00:39:16.652 He will come and He will be a guide to you. 00:39:16.652 --> 00:39:18.721 He will guide you in all truth. 00:39:18.721 --> 00:39:21.512 And then He tells us that the pointed climax 00:39:21.512 --> 00:39:23.711 of what the Holy Spirit is doing 00:39:23.711 --> 00:39:25.454 in the life of every believer. 00:39:25.454 --> 00:39:27.803 What's He doing in chapter 16:14? 00:39:27.803 --> 00:39:32.205 "He (the Spirit) will glorify Me." 00:39:32.205 --> 00:39:34.693 This is the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:39:34.693 --> 00:39:37.832 The Father is working through the Spirit, 00:39:37.832 --> 00:39:41.155 revealing the Son through the Word. 00:39:41.155 --> 00:39:44.482 The Spirit is magnifying Jesus Christ. 00:39:44.482 --> 00:39:47.634 He is lifting Him up and shining upon Him 00:39:47.634 --> 00:39:49.303 that we may behold Him. 00:39:49.303 --> 00:39:51.155 So when we pray, 00:39:51.155 --> 00:39:54.072 "Father, in the name of Jesus, 00:39:54.072 --> 00:39:56.054 help me have joy," 00:39:56.054 --> 00:40:00.250 you can't do this. 00:40:00.250 --> 00:40:03.756 You've got to keep in step with the Spirit. 00:40:03.756 --> 00:40:05.750 God, help me to see. 00:40:05.750 --> 00:40:07.673 This is how He works. 00:40:07.673 --> 00:40:11.331 Through the Spirit magnifying the Son 00:40:11.331 --> 00:40:14.165 and in the revelation of who Jesus is, 00:40:14.165 --> 00:40:15.764 what He's accomplished, 00:40:15.764 --> 00:40:17.884 and who we are in union to Him, 00:40:17.884 --> 00:40:20.564 you can have joy in the midst 00:40:20.564 --> 00:40:25.144 of sorrow and suffering. 00:40:25.144 --> 00:40:29.817 Praise God for His grace. 00:40:29.817 --> 00:40:32.926 O come to the Father 00:40:32.926 --> 00:40:35.803 through Jesus the Son, 00:40:35.803 --> 00:40:38.567 and give Him the glory; 00:40:38.567 --> 00:40:43.362 great things He has done. NOTE Paragraph 00:40:43.362 --> 00:40:47.074 Let's pray. 00:40:47.074 --> 00:40:55.761 Father, how good You are! 00:40:55.761 --> 00:41:00.163 This is a room of trophies of grace. 00:41:00.163 --> 00:41:03.544 That's all we are, God. We're people under grace. 00:41:03.544 --> 00:41:06.913 You've rescued us in Jesus. 00:41:06.913 --> 00:41:08.672 You've put Your Spirit within us. 00:41:08.672 --> 00:41:10.185 You've given us Your Word. 00:41:10.185 --> 00:41:12.817 And here You give us hope in this life 00:41:12.817 --> 00:41:15.353 for the most dire of circumstances 00:41:15.353 --> 00:41:19.069 and real pain by telling us there's something 00:41:19.069 --> 00:41:22.404 better than the removal of pain and sorrow - 00:41:22.404 --> 00:41:24.983 Your Son in the midst of it. 00:41:24.983 --> 00:41:27.397 So God, grant to Your people 00:41:27.397 --> 00:41:32.164 fullness of joy in Jesus Christ 00:41:32.164 --> 00:41:34.353 as we behold Him through the Word 00:41:34.353 --> 00:41:37.083 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:41:37.083 --> 00:41:39.732 In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.