Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Amen.
[00:00:02] Why don't we stand this morning and we'll go to the Lord in prayer. Now, I don't know if just the power cut up for a moment and then all of the electricity went off, then booted back up again. But obviously a little challenge here this morning. So hopefully the PowerPoint will kick in. If it doesn't, guess what.
[00:00:20] I preached for years without a PowerPoint. So, Father, we just want to thank you this morning. And I want to pray, especially as I think of young people going back to school, school and teachers going back to teach and how that's such an important component in the development of people's lives and the influence and the impact and the information that they receive. And Lord, I just pray that your grace would be upon them, that people would come with an open heart and an open mind and they would have a little discernment. I pray that parents would be engaged, especially believing parents would be engaged with their children in the process of, process of education. So critical that we will not just, we'll take this stuff seriously, we'll recognize how important it is, what we're being taught, what we're being told. And father, I pray that we will continue to grow in the truth, that we'll understand the way of this world that was framed by you, that you are the intelligent designer, that you have a plan and purpose for every life. Father, when we don't know that, Lord, we struggle to find meaning. So I pray for our young people. Watch over them, protect their hearts and minds. Pray for our teachers, Lord, some of them feel restricted, they feel challenged, and there's a lot of behavioral issues. And so I pray, protect our teachers. I pray especially for those that know you, that they will be able through their life alone, just as a witness, kids will see there's something unique and powerful and different about them and will inquire as to the hope that they have. And we just thank you for that, Lord. And I pray today as we look at a very powerful message, Lord, moving from grief to joy. How does that happen, Father? And I believe that you're going to teach us something so profound today. It's going to help us in our life experiences, understanding your ways, which are not the ways of our society. And lord, I pray that we will not only hear these words, but father, we will not only grasp them, but we'll begin to apply them and experience joy instead of grief. And we thank you for that in Jesus name and God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:02:28] Years ago, John James and Frank Cherry, in a book called Grief Recovery, traced the story of a little boy named Johnny.
[00:02:36] When he was five, his dog died. And he was so upset over the loss of his dog, he just burst out weeping. That very normal human response to loss. See, his little dog was his constant companion. Slept at the foot of his bed, and now he was gone. And so he just kind of unraveled. His father stammered a little bit and said, oh, listen, johnny, don't feel too bad. We'll get you a new dog on Saturday.
[00:03:01] And in that one sentence, Johnny's dad began offering probably the first of two steps in society's grief management program, which is an unhealthy program. Just bury your feelings will replace your losses.
[00:03:18] Once you have your new dog, you won't even think about the old dog anymore. But how many know that's probably not true? Later, when Johnny falls in love in high school, he's so excited. Life never looked brighter. Until one day she decided to push him aside, dump him. Suddenly there was a curtain that covered the sun. Johnny's heart is broken. This time it's a major hurt. Yes, he lost a dog, but now he's lost a person he truly loved and he's a wreck. But good news, his mom comes to the rescue and with great sensitivity. Don't feel bad, John. There are other fish in the sea. So back to bury your losses or bury the pain. Replace the loss. Johnny now has developed step one and two really good in his life. He's going to probably use this to manage his grief for the rest of his life. Much later, when his grandfather dies, the one he had fished with every summer felt a bond. Special bond to note was slipped to him in math class. And he read the note. He just couldn't hold it together. He broke down and began to sob on his desk. The teacher, now feeling uncomfortable with this response, sent him off to the office so he could grieve alone. When John's father brought him home from school, he saw his mom weeping in the living room and he wanted to run to her and embrace and cry with her. But the dad said, don't disturb her, John. She needs to be alone. She'll be all right in a little while. And then the two of you can talk. So now the third piece in this grieving puzzle was now making sense to Johnny. You grieve alone. So he went to his room and began to weep. And he felt a deep sense of loneliness.
[00:05:02] Do you know, in life we're going to deal with all kinds of challenges. How many know that's true. They just come at us. As a matter of fact, I would argue today that there's no stage in your life that you will not experience a trial, a trouble, a challenge, a difficulty. We struggle with pressures, deadlines, disappointments, things not happening as quickly or the way we would like them to happen in our lives.
[00:05:26] We are limited.
[00:05:28] We are affected by time, dealing with painful, uncontrollable circumstances and deep disappointments, shattered dreams, loss of loved ones, aging with all the losses that that brings. And, you know, you talk to people, oh, can't see well, can't drive anymore, limited mobility, can't do the things you once enjoyed doing. And many times when we experience losses, even when we're young, there's a confusion in our minds. There's a sense of anxiety that creeps up into our soul. We're wondering, where is God? Why is he allowing this to happen in my life? And so we're struggling with these things. So Jesus now concludes here in John 1416, his upper room discourse, by speaking of his eminent departure, and in an obscure way speaks of his resurrection appearances before he will ultimately depart and be with the father. And this language now creates deep confusion, anxiety and perplexity in the minds of the disciples. And so in these closing verses of John 16, we find the means of experiencing spiritual transformation in the hours of sorrow. You know, how many would like to have your trial, your trouble, your loss, your pain, your sorrow, transformed into joy, into hope, into peace? You know, God wants to transform our grief into joy. Actually, we read it in Isaiah. He specializes in doing this. But we're going to talk about some powerful things today. So what promises, you know? In other words, how does this all happen in our lives? And I think God wants to transform us. God's going to use these things in our lives, and we're going to talk about these things that come to us. I want you to see them as undisguised vehicles to transport you to a different place in your life. He wants to move us from where we are to a new place in our soul. He wants to move us from a state of spiritual and emotional immaturity to a place of maturity in both our spirit and in our soul so that we can handle life in a totally different way than we did in the past. God wants to change us. Isn't that amazing? You know, a lot of us think, well, God loves me. I go, yeah, and he loves you so much, he still wants to change you. Because, you know, what God sees is there's limitations. The way we look at life and see life, the way we relate to things, the way we behave, the way we treat each other. God wants to develop us. We're going to look at that process of how he does that. And so what promises and principles do we need to apply in our lives in order for God to bring about this change from loss and grief and brokenness to a place of wholeness and hope and joy? How does that happen in our lives? And I want to look at these beautiful principles here found in John 16, 1633. Those are the texts we're going to look at this morning. And I think there are a number of elements that we need to that will turn our sorrow into joy. And I'm gonna look at the first one here. The first element we need to understand in order to apply this element in our life, in order to be transformed, is changing our perspective. Step one, we got to change the way we see things, because, you know, what so often happens is how we. How we think and how we see affects our emotions. How many know that's true? You know, two people can be looking at the same thing and have totally different response to what's happening. It has a lot to do with perspective. I'm going to look at that, and I've already said this. The vehicle that God uses to transform us, conveying us from grief to joy, I think, are the things that are the most painful in our lives. We don't like this. We go, why does God have to use pain? It's a great tool. It's a great teacher. For most of us, we don't pay attention until there's enough pain and perplexity and confusion that we start realizing, I've got to come at this differently. It's really amazing. It's a tool. God's using this in our lives. Hard things bring, I think, confusion and questions to all of our minds. One question, how can any good come from this? That's a question. A thought that comes through our minds, or, why is God allowing this pain in my life? I mean, if God is good and loving, why is he letting this happen?
[00:10:10] So while we're trapped in an earthly timeframe, we all go through different seasons in our lives, you know, and God is working from an eternal canvas, and he's painting our story. Each one of us, we have a story. He's painting us into this eternal canvas to fit an eternal narrative in which we are part but not the central character in the story.
[00:10:38] Boy, this is a huge shift for a lot of us because, you know, many people see themselves as the central character in their story. Come on, let's be honest, right? We're living it. But I want to point out the central character in our stories is Christ. In us, it's about God. He's the central character in the eternal story, but we're a part of it. And when we open our lives to him, he comes into our lives, and Christ becomes within us, and we become part of that eternal narrative in such a beautiful way that eventually we begin to live as a witness to our society that he's put us in the people he's put into our lives. We now become God's communicative element to those around us.
[00:11:27] So I'm going to start here from our text today, and we're going to start with the state of the disciples confusion. And we read these verses. John 1616. Jesus went on to say, in a little while you'll see me no more. And then after a little while you'll see me. Okay, what does that mean?
[00:11:45] See, we're looking at the story from hindsight. Could you imagine being there? And Jesus goes, oh, in a little while, you're not going to see me. Oh, in a little while after that, you're going to see me at this. Some of his disciples said to each other, they didn't even ask Jesus, what is he talking about? I mean, they're talking to each other. What does he mean by saying, in a little while you'll see me no more? Then after a little while you'll see me. And because I'm going to the father, these guys really did not know what Jesus was talking about. How many see that? They're not getting it. They're not picking it up.
[00:12:16] They kept asking, what does he mean a little while? So that little while was really driving them bonkers, you know, how many know time is an interesting element? We don't understand what he's saying.
[00:12:28] Jesus saw that they were wanting to ask him about this. So we said to them, are you asking one another what I mean when I said, in a little while you'll see me no more? And then after a little while you'll see me.
[00:12:40] How many know that time is a big issue, especially as human beings. We struggle with it, you know, Gerald Bouchard says time is a difficult factor for humans to integrate fully in their understanding of their perspective of God.
[00:12:56] It's no different with the disciples.
[00:12:59] Jesus was somehow able to stand above time as he did. And he told the Jews in chapter eight, before Abraham was, I am now. Abraham left 2000 years before that.
[00:13:11] That statement, for mere humans was not only illogical, but for the people listening to him, the jews that were listening to him, they thought it was both sacrilegious for him to say that, and they thought he was crazy. How could you say, before Abraham, you're not even 50 years old. What do you mean? Abraham lived 2000 years ago, and you're saying before he lived, you were, wow.
[00:13:34] Actually, the only conclusion they could come to was that Jesus was saying he was God, and they got upset and they picked up rocks and were ready to kill him.
[00:13:43] That was the conclusion that they came to from that remark.
[00:13:47] But in this section, the discussion is not quite so radical, but it created for the disciples a sense of complete bewilderment that necessitated an extended explanation from Jesus that is going to reach beyond this little part that we've just mentioned, this little segment.
[00:14:08] How many know, because we're creatures of time, you and I see things totally different in a totally different timeframe than God does. How many know that's true?
[00:14:16] God is not hung up on time.
[00:14:20] Anybody figured that out yet?
[00:14:23] You and I, you know, we are stressed about time. God is working on this amazing masterpiece that stretches across all of eternity, in which your life and my life are a part of. But he's not worrying about how fast, how slow. He's not even focused on time, and yet you and I struggle with it.
[00:14:50] I think, you know, we are constantly reminding of times tyranny demands to be met. We're all in a hurry. We know that time's valuable. We know that we have a shelf life. We know the Runway is going to come to an end, you know, when we really think about it, you know, so time becomes a big deal. How many say that's true? It's a big deal to us. As a matter of fact, we only have a limited amount, so we want to spend it, you know, in different ways. And God seems to be more concerned about developing us than he is about time. So you and I are on a microwave frequency. That's how we think. Anybody notice that? We're all in a hurry, and God's always late.
[00:15:38] I'm just pointing this out. We have a problem of crying out to God. It isn't happening right now. We're frustrated. Come on, let's be honest. We're in microwave time. Push the buttons. 10 seconds, 15 seconds. Boop. It's done.
[00:15:50] But God's operating on slow cooker time.
[00:15:55] He's got you and I in a crock pot, and it's taking forever, you know, but there's a different outcome between eating something from the microwave and eating something from the crock pot. How many go? That's true. Big difference in food, right? The quality, the taste, everything. God goes, you know, it takes a long time for you and I to become better.
[00:16:19] This is a slow process. How many go? We're a little slow on the uptake at times, not quite picking it up. Jesus. Right? And even when we learn the lesson, how many have ever gone back and going, I thought I learned that lesson, and here I am doing the same dumb thing again. Anybody have that experience?
[00:16:39] Okay, so it's not like it never happens. It's, you know, it's frustrating. I thought I was beyond this. You know, I thought I'd already passed that test, and here I am. I passed it a few times. Now I'm flunking it again. What is the problem here? Time is a big thing, and then all of a sudden, if you want to know where you're really at, God allows a crisis to strike. Oh, my. Why? And about that time. Our response to the crisis now indicates that we're maybe not as far along on the journey as we like to think we are. Anybody have that experience?
[00:17:18] You know, you're going, wow, I thought I would handle this better. You know, I'm not handling this.
[00:17:24] And I even can confess that I have moments where I'm not handling this the way I would like to. Anybody beyond me. Ever have moments where you feel like you're out of your league and this is overwhelming? There's so much pressure. You're trying to figure things out. You've got restraints and all the rest of it. Anybody relate to this? Am I talking to the right group? Okay, just checking. Just checking. Okay, so Jesus is explaining now the upcoming events that's about to occur and the disciples emotional state of being as now they're going to journey through these events, and let me tell you, they're going to go into the greatest crisis of their lives, and they're not going to do so good. Okay, how many say, I can relate to the disciples?
[00:18:10] You know, Jesus was trying to prepare them. He was kind of saying things, but do you know we don't pick up bad news very well because we don't want to hear it, right?
[00:18:21] So how do we handle life's greatest test? How do we respond to those moments of pain and struggle, confusion or frustration? Will we trust that God has a plan? Is God really in control? Does he have a plan? Is he working out something? Or will we have confidence that God will take us through that experience.
[00:18:41] I think there's some debate as to the exact meaning of the term. In a little while, you'll see me no more, and after a little while, you'll see me. And looking at the narrative in hindsight, it's a lot easier to understand, because Jesus is aware that he's about to be crucified. He knows what's about to happen, and he knows he's going to be resurrected from the dead. He knows this, and that's what he's talking about here. You know, this is, I think, the most probable meaning of the text. While the disciples, after seeing Jesus crucified, that's just a shattering moment, because up until this point, they believe he's the messiah. They believe he's going to literally reignite in Israel. And then everything comes to a crashing end. And their whole hopes and dreams and everything they gave up to follow seems to be a farce. And, you know, they're in a state of shatteredness. They're in a state of deep grief. I mean, they've seen Jesus do miracles. What in the world's going on here? They did not anticipate that the messianic promises included the suffering servant that would have to die as a substitute for sin. They just did not know that. They could not. Nobody understood that. Nobody was picking up on that.
[00:19:50] Jesus says, listen, guys, very truly, I tell you, you're going to weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You're going to grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. So now, Jesus, I love this. He's basically saying, look, you know, all these adversaries that we've had, they're going to be happy that when I'm killed, they're going to be rejoicing over this. They finally got rid of me. You're going to be sad because you've lost me. You've lost your dream. This is going to be terrible. You're going to weep and you're going to mourn. World's going to be rejoicing. But I'm going to tell you something. Your weeping and grief is going to be transformed into joy. Something's going to happen to change your sorrow into joy. And the irony is that this is but the beginning, I believe, of an even greater transformation. See, Jesus, you know, these guys that are rejoicing right now at the death of Jesus, if they thought they had major problems with Jesus, just wait until Jesus raises from the dead and pours out his spirit and blows the door open and the whole nation now is going to be transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. And not only did it happen at that moment, but it has continued to happen for 2000 years and is continuing to happen today.
[00:21:09] And for all of the pessimism that I often hear in believers in North America, I just want to let you know that the church has never grown faster than it currently is today. And there are more christians alive today than there have ever been in human history.
[00:21:26] That's the good news. But we focus in on what the bad news. God had a little talk to me this week.
[00:21:34] He said, paul, you were focusing in on the problems, but Paul tells you to think whatsoever things are good, pure, lovely. When you focus on the problems, what does it do?
[00:21:46] Brings you down. When you focus in on the answer and the good news, it lifts your spirit up. Right. Brings about a transformation. Well, let me go to the second element, and that's to embrace God's plan for our lives.
[00:22:02] Can we trust God in the hour of perplexity, confusion and pain? That's a question. Can we trust him? Can we trust God when nothing makes sense to us? Can we trust God when we're numb? Can we trust God when Jesus is making an amazing promise in framing an incredible principle. Listen to what Jesus says here. He says, he gives an illustration. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. You know, I was reading Warren Worsby. He's an old time commentator. You know, he said something that totally captured me this week, and I began to reflect on it a lot.
[00:22:49] How do we deal with tragedy and difficulty? Do we deal with it like the rest of society or not? He said the principle is simply this.
[00:22:59] Well, Jesus, let me finish this quote and then I'll go to that. So with you now is your time of grief. But I will see, you will see again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. The principle is simply this. God brings joy to our lives not by substitution, but by transformation.
[00:23:18] And he illustrates it with the birth of a child. He says the baby gives birth that causes pain. The same baby that's causing the pain is going to cause the joy.
[00:23:30] Well, that's a very interesting thought. The same baby that's causing the pain is going to bring the joy. Okay, I want you to think about that.
[00:23:39] That's the illustration that Jesus gives in birth. God does not substitute something else to relieve the mother's pain.
[00:23:49] Instead, he uses what is there already but transforms it. He goes on to illustrate the idea of defaulting to substitution rather than experiencing pain and coming to transformation. In other words, our world says, I don't want to feel pain. Let's be honest. That's what we're doing. We're numbing the pain. We're tranquilizing the pain. We're doing anything to get rid of the pain. And what God is saying is, the pain is not the problem.
[00:24:14] The pain is designed to bring you somewhere.
[00:24:18] It's true.
[00:24:20] God wants to change what's going to happen here. And he goes on to say, every parent knows what it's like to have an unhappy child and a toy is broken, or a playmate has gone home and the child is upset. Anybody had that experience? Okay, the parent can do one of two things. They can substitute something else for the broken toy or the absent friend by giving another toy or calling another playmate to come and be with their kids. And what starts happening over time is that the child begins to expect people to come to his rescue and to substitute their pain with something else.
[00:24:54] Or. And really, there's no real development. There's no maturity that's happening in the child's life. The way of substitution for solving problems is the way of immaturity.
[00:25:06] The way of transformation is the way of faith and maturity. We cannot mature emotionally or spiritually if somebody is always replacing our broken toys.
[00:25:18] That's pretty interesting.
[00:25:20] Jesus did not say that the mother's sorrow was replaced by joy, but that the sorrow was transformed into joy. The same baby, as I said, that caused the pain, also caused the joyous. It is in the christian life, God takes seemingly impossible situations, adds the miracle.
[00:25:44] Just a sec here.
[00:25:47] The miracle of his grace, and transforms trial into triumph and sorrow into joy.
[00:25:53] I think probably one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible story of Joseph. There's a lot of reasons. I just love that story. And the reason I like it is it's so true to life because it shows you something of how to handle life's greatest disappointments. He's sold into slavery by his jealous and angry brothers. Then he's falsely accused. He's in prison. And disappointment, heartache, pain, and loss of family, dignity and confusion obviously are filling his mind. How many say that's probably true? He's 17 years old, and all this is happening to him.
[00:26:23] There's no substitution in Joseph's years of suffering, struggle, sorrow.
[00:26:28] However, I would argue that those are the things that brought about transformation and maturity in Joseph's life.
[00:26:36] From the spoiled favorite of his father to the dreams that God gave him, in which he, with insensitivity, provoked his brothers. Now, years later, while serving the prison warden, he's in a place where God has bringing him now from the lowest point prison all the way to the highest point in one day, he's elevated to become the prime minister of the nation. And we know that there's a change in this man from being when he was 17 to 30. He's now 30, you know, and then years later, his brothers approach him, and they're afraid because the fathers died. And they said, listen, Joseph, we want you to forgive us. That's dad's dying wish.
[00:27:19] I want you to see Joseph's response. You know what he did when they came to him? He wepteze. And then he said this.
[00:27:27] Don't be afraid.
[00:27:29] Am I in the place of God? Can I just stop there for a minute? Do you know what we do when somebody hurts us, betrays us, abuses us? We get angry. We get hurt and angry. And a lot of times we want to avenge that hurt in our lives.
[00:27:49] But, you know, the Bible says, do not repay evil with evil. Rather, we need to learn how to forgive people, and we need to turn it over to God and let God deal with those people so that you and I can be free in our lives to move on. We should not try to play God, but a lot of people do. And they stay in their hurt and their anger and their bitterness, and they just poison themselves. He says, am I in the place of God?
[00:28:14] You intended to harm me, but God intended it for God. God used the evil you did as a vehicle to transform me into a different person, to move me from sorrow and pain and weeping and grief to a place of joy, to accomplish for good what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Wow.
[00:28:40] God.
[00:28:42] You know, he saw God's hand in his losses and in his sorrow, and he saw how God transformed him and transformed not only him, but a whole nation.
[00:28:53] Joseph actually was the savior of not only his own people, but the nation of Egypt. How many think that's amazing? God used him in a miraculous way. Let me go to the third element. Well, I just put down, when we try and avenge the wrongs in our lives, we're putting ourselves in the place of God. And when we entrust our sorrows to God, he has a way of transforming tragedy and loss into victory.
[00:29:16] Third element is acting on God's provision. Joseph. Sorry. Jesus is about to permanently go to the father. But a wonderful provision is now being left to the early followers of Jesus. But not only them, but to all of us, all ages, we have this provision. God's leaving a provision. What is it? What are you leaving us? Jesus? We have direct access to come to our father and we can ask for whatever because of our relationship with Jesus. He says it this way. In that day, you will no longer ask me anything. Well, no, because Jesus is gone. They had always gone to Jesus.
[00:29:52] Very truly, I tell you, my father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
[00:29:59] How many think that's a powerful statement?
[00:30:02] Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive. And your what?
[00:30:09] Your joy will be complete.
[00:30:12] So I'm just bringing this out. How do you move from grief to joy?
[00:30:18] You pray. This is another, besides the pain, as a vehicle. We need to learn how to trust God. We need to learn how to communicate with God. Now we see that prayer is a key instrument in attaining joy. Why Jesus says it comes in having received what we've asked for. Yet Jesus lays a condition upon that asking. This is not a magical formula, that having stated those words, we now have asked by saying, I pray this in Jesus name. Like, you know, magic is learning how to say the right things. It's like an incantation to get a right result. That's not what prayer is. Rather, it's far more pregnant with meaning. We're coming to the father and being received by the father because of our acceptance and love for Jesus.
[00:31:11] So it's a conditional thing. I need to be, you know, in that right place. Listen, though I've been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language, will tell you plainly about my father. Now, this isn't the idea figuratively, like we think of in literature today. He means I'm speaking obscurely. Now I'm going to speak plainly. You're going to have that moment after the Holy Spirit comes. Everything's going to happen to you. It's going to come very plainly to you. You're going to get it now. But right now you're not getting it. He goes on to say, in that day you will ask in my name. I'm not saying that. I will ask the Father on your behalf. So in other words, this is a confusing text because Jesus is an intercessor, but he's saying, listen, you're not coming necessarily through me. You're actually going right to the Father. And he says this. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. In other words, the Father is responding to you because of your relationship with me. And that's such a key idea that we need to grasp. The Father in heaven is gonna respond to people who have a love for Jesus.
[00:32:19] We have actually access to the Father because of our relationship through Christ. So when I come in the name of Jesus, what I'm really doing is coming in relationship with Jesus that the father acknowledges and sees and responds to because he sees that you and I have a love for Jesus, and that's what he's responding to.
[00:32:40] Again, what does it mean to love Jesus?
[00:32:44] Okay, what does it mean to love Jesus? Those we love, what do we do? We want to spend time with the people I love the most, I want to hang with. And those we love, we want to please.
[00:32:58] Isn't that true? You know, I love doing things for people I love, and I will be generous with people I love. How many here say, it's easy to be generous with people you love? Anybody here besides me? It's easy to be generous with people you love. It's harder to be generous with people that are not treating you well.
[00:33:18] That's human nature.
[00:33:20] I'm pointing out something to us. You know, a lot of us say, I love Jesus, but we never spend time with him.
[00:33:26] Does that make any sense?
[00:33:29] You know, why do we get married to somebody? I want to spend time with you.
[00:33:33] That's what we're saying. I want to hang with you. I want to spend time. I enjoy being with you. That's what it means to love someone. So to pray in Jesus name means we're praying. We're to pray now for things.
[00:33:45] And I'm quoting Colin Cruz here. He says, to pray in Jesus name means to pray for things for his sake or in line with his purposes. I'm not praying for what I want. I'm praying for what I think he wants. I'm lining up to his will. I'm praying according to his will. So in this verse, Jesus is saying that after his resurrection, the disciples will begin approaching the father directly in their prayers. And whatever they ask the father, which is in line with Jesus purposes for humankind and the glory of God will be given to them. Now, we've really made a condition on prayer because a lot of times, as James says, we're praying for things we want. God goes, I have no interest in giving you that motorcycle at five years old, because that's how we pray. God, I really want this. God says, if I gave you that, I would wreck your life. So I've got something better than mine. Wow.
[00:34:40] Okay.
[00:34:42] The final element in transforming our sorrows into joy is God's presence in our life. I think what is absolutely amazing is our inability to truly assess our spiritual condition.
[00:34:55] You go, why? Because we're living in this body and how many in this room? A lot of us underestimate ourselves or we overestimate ourselves. It's really hard to get a true estimate. How many agree with me. We can either overestimate or underestimate, but it's hard to get the true condition. What do I really like? And, you know, so how do we get there? What we think about ourselves, our commitment, and what we understand about our relationship to our faith in Christ can only be exposed to us. You're not going to like this in times of testing because that's really the barometer. That's like, you know, I'm cooking turkey, it's Thanksgiving. I have to stick that crazy thermometer in there to get a reading on how cooked this bird really is. And so I got to find out how much heat is really being, you know, is really having an effect on this person's life. Right. God goes, I just allowed trial to come in there. It'll really show. It's a barometer. It's going to show. God already knows. But you and I have no clue. We really don't. We think we do. Then Jesus said to the disciples, now you're speaking clearly and without figures of speech. That's what they said back to Jesus.
[00:36:11] Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.
[00:36:20] Okay, that's good.
[00:36:24] The disciples did believe that Jesus had come from the father. But the implications and willingness at this point to serve God under the most trying moments of their lives are now about to be tested. And Gerald Bouchard says something very interesting. The gulf between what we say we believe and how we so often are inconsistent about how we live out what we believe. Do you think there might be a gap between what I believe and what I do?
[00:36:49] Oh, listen to what he says. He said the disciples had arrived at the point of a belief that they could express. But typically, human words and adequate belief may be far apart in real life.
[00:37:02] People may say they believe in Jesus, but that does not mean they've arrived at the point where their life patterns follow their beliefs. Jesus was not confused by statements of belief or about stages of believing.
[00:37:16] Jesus now points this out. Listen to what Jesus says, oh, do you now believe? Jesus replied, a time is coming, in fact has come, when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone, yet I am not alone, for my father is with me. How many know Jesus knows better the true state of our soul?
[00:37:36] How many believe that? Well, I totally does, right?
[00:37:40] And the upcoming tests and struggles we're about to experience, even as the first followers went through them, reveals the true state of our souls. And I'm always amazed at some people. You know, some people go through trials and they go, wow, I'm just shocked at how well they're handling all the things that are coming at them. And then there's other people, they have the smallest thing happen and they're just derailed.
[00:38:02] Ever notice that? And you know what happens? The people that are telling me, you know, the reason I'm not doing this or the reason I don't do that, I'm so disappointed with God, I'm so upset with him, and blah, blah, blah, and I'm just going, no, what you're telling me is what was inside of you or what you thought was inside of you really wasn't inside of you.
[00:38:20] The test is really showing if you pass or fail, you know, it's like going to school, you know, why do teachers give you an exam?
[00:38:29] To know what, to find out if you really understood what was being taught.
[00:38:35] How many know, I don't like tests. Everyone says, how many go, I don't like tests, you know, but if you're prepared for a test, you don't have to have test anxiety.
[00:38:48] Yeah, that's true. And here's what I would say. If you went to school every day and actually paid attention and took good notes, you wouldn't have to study as hard the night before. You wouldn't have to craminal because you'd be learning all along. But a lot of people are goof enough and not learning anything. And so they, you know, they're going to have problems, they're going to have test anxiety. You know, people say to me, I have test anxiety. I'm going, let me help you with that. Learn how to study here way early on in the thing, you know, and you'll do way better. When it comes to test time, you won't even have anxiety. You'll be ready for the test.
[00:39:22] Well, Gerald Bouchard says the reality bomb then was dropped by Jesus in the great reversal statement of this section, their hour or hora, the greek word. As you know, Niv translated the time, but it's really the hour.
[00:39:43] There's going to be this amazing dramatic shift that's going to happen. Anxiety circle began with the disciples concerned about Jesus departed. I'm gonna leave. And their obvious feelings of abandonment. They felt abandoned when Jesus was talking about this. But while the disciples fears were real, Jesus made it clear that in the forthcoming scattering of the disciples, they would abandon Jesus.
[00:40:04] Not the reverse. He's not gonna abandon them. I wanna just say this to us right now. In every test, Jesus never abandons you. In every test in life, you've never been abandoned by God. You know, Jesus goes on, he goes on to say, the glue is not the disciples, it's Jesus who will note, I abandon the disciples or let them become orphans, even though they're going to leave Jesus when the pressure comes to them. Yep, that'll exactly what happened. They all scattered. Right? Persecution and societal pressures do strange things to people. Both Jesus and John understood this reality. John had witnessed the abandonment of Jesus by the disciples. And the Christians of the late first century were faced with similar pressures to abandon their relationship with Jesus. And I would argue today that those same societal pressures are here today.
[00:40:52] They're all here, guys, and I'm going to just encourage us.
[00:40:56] Listen very carefully to me. I don't really care what the society believes, and I'll tell you why. The only person that matters is what God thinks.
[00:41:08] Because the whole society is going to be judged by God.
[00:41:12] So if you go along with what the society says, you're going to be in big time trouble.
[00:41:17] So you got to make up your mind who you're going to believe.
[00:41:20] And we need to have the courage and the grace to say, I'm going to choose God. Don't just believe what God says. And if that gets you in the hot water, God will be with you in the hot water.
[00:41:31] How's that?
[00:41:33] We have to make up our minds, right?
[00:41:36] So I think we're going to be faced with the same things we're going to be faced today, with disappointments. We're going to be faced with losses. We're going to be faced with perplexities. And the question we have to ask ourselves, are we going to stick with Jesus even though we don't understand what's going on? Even though Jesus understood they would all fail and flee, his father would be with him to the very end. Until the moment that Jesus became sin, and then the father forsook him. But up until then, he was there.
[00:42:06] What we need to understand in our losses, our sorrows, our disappointments, our confusion, is that God will not leave us.
[00:42:16] He's there in every storm, in every surprise, in every struggle. Jesus then concludes this upper room discourse with an insight regarding what we can expect in this world and also what it means to find refuge in him. This is the last verse. I've told you these things so that in me you might have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I've overcome the world. And let me just say at this very simply, we can anticipate that the world will bring trouble, that in life you will have trouble. But if you're in Christ, you'll have peace. You'll still have trouble in this world, but in Christ you will have peace. You will have peace in the midst of the trouble. How many say, that's beautiful?
[00:42:58] That's why Peter is sleeping before they're going to execute him. How in the world can Peter sleep? He's not. He got any anxiety because he goes, in me, you will have peace. He was resting in Christ. That's where we got to get to in our lives. So I could summarize it. I summarize it that way. Now God knows that our troubles, our sorrows, our losses can be transformed, but not by temporal substitutes, but by his amazing presence, which transforms our hearts and gives us a peace that passes human understanding in a joy that will bring strength to our souls. Let's stand.
[00:43:39] So I want to pray this morning. You know, I know that there's people going through grief. I know that people are experiencing trouble.
[00:43:48] I could say, how many here, you've had a measure of trouble this week?
[00:43:54] Okay, how many had a measure of trouble last week?
[00:43:59] And some of you are saying, well, at this moment, pastor, I'm not in trouble, but I hate to tell you, it'd be the bearer of bad news. But you will foresee trouble in the future.
[00:44:09] So the good news is you can avoid trouble, but you can have peace.
[00:44:16] The good news is, even though you'll experience losses in life, it can be transformed. It can be a vehicle that transforms you to have joy. You see? How is that? I'm in God's presence. I can talk to him, and God will use this for good. Amen. I'm going to grow. I'm going to get stronger. You know the joy I love, what Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord is my strength.
[00:44:45] So I'm just encouraging us today. Let's pray.
[00:44:50] You got grief, you got trouble, you got sorrow, you're struggling, you know, don't panic. Jesus is with you in the boat. How's that all you got to do is wake him up. Use that analogy, right? I know he's awake, but you know what I'm saying? They woke him up. Jesus, can't you see we're perishing?
[00:45:14] Jesus stands up in the boat and says, be still.
[00:45:19] Boom. The winds and the waves stop.
[00:45:23] Now, why did Jesus do that?
[00:45:26] You're saying, well, he's a show off. No, he's not.
[00:45:29] He's trying to tell them he's God. Jesus is God. Only God can do that.
[00:45:35] That's the point. We need to learn. We got to trust him. Immediately, the storm stopped. And Jesus said something interesting in that. He said, hey.
[00:45:46] Cause they had asked him, don't you care about us? What did Jesus say? Can't you trust me? So every time you ask God, don't you care about me? Jesus is saying right back, can't you trust me? I can make that storm stop anytime.
[00:46:02] I'm bringing you through the experience. You know, sometimes God delivers us, and sometimes God brings us through. You know, we all pray, God, deliver me. From every trial God goes, I'll deliver you from many trials, but some I'm bringing you through, and you're going to change as a result of that experience. You're not going to be the same person. You're going to be stronger. So, Father, I pray today, as we open our hearts to you, that you're going to transform our struggles, our sorrows, our grief, our brokenness, our confusion, our perplexity. Whatever state we're in right now, we're all in different states. And I pray, Father, that we'll change our perspective today, that we'll see that you're using these very things as vehicles to help us grow and mature and learn to trust you and actually become stronger and healthier and have our grief turned into joy. That's my prayer, Lord, for my brothers and sisters, that we will all leave this place going, I am going to walk in joy. I am going to walk in peace, trusting my father is going to see me through this. And we thank you for that, Father. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
