Your sorrow will turn to joy

Here we go, John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

A little while and you will see me no longer.

And again a little while and you will see me.

So some of his disciples said to one another,

what is this that he says to us?

A little while and you'll not see me

and a little while and you will see me

because I'm going to the Father.

So they were saying,

what does he mean by a little while?

We do not know what he is talking about.

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him.

So he said to them,

is this what you are asking yourselves?

What I meant by saying a little while and you will not see me

and again a little while and you will see me?

Truly, truly I say to you,

you will weep and lament

but the world will rejoice.

You will be sorrowful

but your sorrow will turn into joy.

When a woman is giving birth,

she has sorrow because her hour has come.

But when she has delivered the baby,

she no longer remembers the anguish

for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

So also you have sorrow now

but I will see you again

and your hearts will rejoice

and no one will take your joy from you.

In that day you will ask nothing of me.

Truly, truly I say to you,

whatever you ask of the Father in my name,

he will give it to you.

Until now you have asked nothing in my name.

Ask and you will receive

that your joy may be full.

I have said these things to you

in figures of speech.

The hour is coming

when I will no longer speak to you

in figures of speech

but will tell you plainly about the Father.

In that day you will ask in my name

and I do not say to you

that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

For the Father himself loves you

because you have loved me

and have believed that I came from God.

I came from the Father

and have come into the world

and now I am leaving the world

and going to the Father.

His disciples said,

Ah, now you are speaking plainly

and not using figurative speech.

Now we know that you know all things

and do not need anyone to question you.

This is why we believe

that you came from God.

Jesus answered them,

Do you now believe?

Behold, the hour is coming.

Indeed, it has come

when you will be scattered

each to his own home

and will leave me alone.

Yet I am not alone

for the Father is with me.

I have said these things to you

that in me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation,

but take heart.

I have overcome the world.

We are going to sing a song.

During this song is an opportunity

for utilisation of our creche.

So if you have kids

in either of these categories

on the screen behind me,

then now is the time

during this song

to head them out.

So creche will be

over in the hall adjacent to us

and the grace kids

for those primary grades

will be taken out

by their leaders

across to the cottage

on the car part.

I will give a reminder

after the sermon

to pick up the kids

from creche,

but the grace kids,

those older kids,

they will be brought back

at the end of their program.

Thank you, musicians.

Well, good morning, everyone.

My name's Dave.

I'm one of the pastors here.

If I haven't met you before,

a warm welcome to you.

I saw Pete and Michelle come in.

Welcome, guys.

And CJ, welcome.

If there's any other visitors,

I hope you can stick around

for a cuppa after the service.

And John and Angela,

it is lovely to see you again

and have you back with us.

Yeah, it's wonderful.

Praise God for his healing

that you can be with us today.

Would you pray with me

before we come to God's Word?

Father, as we just sang,

we want to come and trade

our sorrows for joy.

And Lord, we know that we can

only do that

because of the altar

where you,

our Lord Jesus Christ,

were sacrificed on our behalf.

Lord, I pray that

you would speak to each of us

this morning where we're at,

search our hearts,

and give us

and give us

true

and lasting peace

and joy

in Christ.

Lord, we need it

so that we cherish you

above all else,

so that we live for you

and nothing else.

So please speak to us

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, what can take away

our peace in God?

I think any number of things

threaten to take away

our peace in God,

but let me just point out

some of the common ones,

some of the big ones.

Peace in God is often threatened

by our feelings of guilt

and shame.

What can cleanse us?

What can take away

our guilt and shame

and restore us

to feeling right with God,

being good with him?

I think peace in God

can be threatened

by false teaching

about God.

I was at uni,

I was once catching up

with a guy

who I thought

were both Christians,

I just wanted to make a friend

and were catching up,

were chatting,

but then after a little while

I realised

he had an agenda.

He didn't actually think

I was a Christian

because I hadn't been baptised

a second time

in the Spirit.

And that really rocked me.

Am I close to God?

How can we be sure

that we have true knowledge

of God?

I think peace in God

is threatened

when death

confronts us

in sickness

and other tragedies.

What can overcome

such a frightening enemy?

Peace in God

can be threatened

by relational breakdown

in the home

or the church.

what has the power

to heal wounds

and bring about

true confession

and forgiveness?

What can motivate that?

It's quite rare

in our world.

Where will we find

the strength

and wisdom

and love

to live faithfully

in every circumstance

we're in?

I think our peace

in God

can be threatened

when we feel like

we don't have

the resources

we need.

And I think

peace in God

is threatened

by the alluring

promises

of this world.

That following God

means we're missing out

or the threats

of this world.

It's just too costly

to follow Jesus.

to give up

the things

of this world.

What

can give us

something better

than what this world

has to offer?

There are many

formidable things

that can threaten

our peace in God

and our Lord

tells us in John 16

this morning

that his words

are intended

to give us

true and lasting

peace in him

even while we live

in this world.

This is a comforting

passage

so let's

take a look at it.

He has been preparing

his first disciples

for when he has gone

as Simon helpfully

reminded us.

To remain in his teaching

to love one another

to be ready

to receive hostility

from a world

that doesn't want God

but that we will

have the help

of the Holy Spirit

to change hearts.

And he has one

final word

to his disciples.

After this

he's going to pray

and then he's

going to leave.

This is it.

This is the end.

What is his

final instruction?

What is the main

thing the disciples

and us need

to understand?

At this point

I'm expecting

like a manager

or coach

of a sporting team

to give some

rallying speech

to try and draw out

the best

from the team.

Or maybe

preparing an army

like Winston Churchill's

famous speech

we shall fight

on the beaches

we shall fight

on the landing grounds

we shall fight

in the fields

and in the streets

we shall fight

in the hills

we shall never surrender.

I'm expecting

something like that.

Let's motivate

the team.

And then verse 16

is what we get.

What is that?

What does that mean?

John repeats

these words

three times

and at first reading

I thought it was

almost comical.

Okay,

we got it

the first time

John.

But the repetition

should alert us

to the fact

that this is

really important.

Don't miss this.

This is absolutely

central.

But then

the disciples

who have been

with Jesus

from the very

beginning

they don't get it.

This final word

and they

don't understand.

That's incredible

that they don't get it.

what is he

talking about?

They ask one another.

I'm picturing

the many times

me at school

and a teacher

gives an instruction

and I completely

miss it

and I'm too embarrassed

to ask the teacher

so I just turn around

and see if the person

next to me

knows what's going on.

Surely they know

and none of them

get it.

But I don't get it.

This is Jesus'

final,

most central

instruction

and they're

totally confused.

Why don't

they get it?

Is he speaking

a riddle

that's impossible

to solve?

Well in verse 25

Jesus does admit

that the words

he's speaking

at the moment

are veiled

but soon

that veil

will be lifted.

but the main

problem

seems to be

that they had

no room

in their

expectations

for a Christ

who would bring

about the kingdom

of God

by suffering

and dying

and then rising

again.

It didn't fit

with their

expectations.

So for us

looking back

after the cross

Jesus' words

seem rather

obvious.

In a little

while

the disciples

wouldn't see

him because

that time

the next day

he would be

dead and

buried.

Then again

in a little

while the

disciples saw

him raised

to new

life.

But in

and of

themselves

the apostles

the founders

of the

church

did not

understand

what Christ

came to

do.

But Jesus

instructs them

then

so that

later

they would

understand.

In

verses

20 to

22

Jesus

describes

what was

about to

happen.

Just

pause

and notice

that even

now

I love

this

that even

now

just before

his own

suffering

Christ

is focused

on his

disciples.

He's

loving

his own

to the

very end.

He speaks

of what's

about to

happen from

their perspective

what they're

going to

experience.

He's the

one who's

about to

die

and he's

worried about

them.

so that

when they

look back

after the

event

they can

have

confidence

that Jesus

was in

full

command

of the

situation.

Truly

truly

I say

to you

you will

weep

and lament

but the

world

will

rejoice.

Weeping

is only

ever talked

about in

John's

gospel

in

connection

with

death

when

Lazarus

died

and when

Jesus

was

crucified.

When

Jesus

is

lifted

up

on

the

cross

his

death

will

divide

the

world

clearly

and

forever.

Now

I've

never

heard

of

non-Christians

throwing

a party

to celebrate

Jesus

being killed

I've

never

heard

of

that

but

for

those

three

days

when

he

was

in

the

tomb

surely

the

religious

leaders

who

had

conspired

to bring

him

down

must

have

been

so

relieved

so

happy

that

he

was

finally

out

of

the

way

and

people

today

are

still

happy

when

Christianity

is

out

of

the

way

I

think

we saw

it

this

week

we

heard

the

cry

against

the

ABC

that

they

would

use

such

a

religious

word

in

their

tweet

prayers

answered

as

New

South

Wales

rainfall

extinguishes

74

day

caravan

bush

fire

one

person

tweeted

back

ABC

news

prayers

had

nothing

to do

with

it

please

delete

this

offensive

tweet

hashtag

freedom

from

religion

and so

the ABC

changed

it

our

society

is

relieved

and

happy

if

anything

remotely

to do

with

Christ

is

kept

out

of

their

lives

a

lot

of

our

world

believes

it

can

have

peace

when

God

is

out

of

the

way

and

yet

others

of

us

look

at

the

cross

and

we

believe

it

is

our

very

life

the

cross

divides

the

world

so

can I

pause

and

ask

are

you

trying

to

belong

to

both

Jesus

and

the

world

it's

not

possible

are

you

trying

to

have

peace

in

God

while

at

the

same

time

trying

to

have

peace

the

ways

of

the

world

that

wants

nothing

to

do

with

God

it's

completely

incompatible

it

doesn't

work

we're

going to

decide

which

one

offers

us

true

peace

and

joy

what

Jesus

forewarns

his

disciples

that

their

lack

of

understanding

of

his

mission

as

the

Christ

will

lead

them

to

weep

and

lament

at

his

death

but

the

world

will

not

have

the

last

laugh

your

sorrow

will

turn

into

joy

Jesus

says

it's

going

to

be

like

a

woman

giving

birth

what

happens

to

the

sadness

and

the

pain

when

giving

birth

once

the

mother

holds

the

new

life

in

her

arms

it

is

transformed

into

joy

the

cause

of

the

sadness

and

agony

is

the

very

thing

that

results

in

the

deep

joy

so

too

for

us

for

the

disciples

it's

not

merely

that

their

sorrow

will

be

replaced

by

something

that

will

give

them

joy

the

very

thing

that

causes

the

sorrow

will

turn

into

joy

can

you

imagine

the

impact

of

the

cross

on

the

disciples

before

the

resurrection

and

before

they

had

the

spirit

to

help

them

understand

they

must

have

been

so

confused

did

Jesus

mean

to

be

killed

did

he

lose

they

must

have

felt

so

alone

that

they're

now

leaderless

they've

got no

protection

they must

have

felt

so

afraid

are

these

authorities

going to

hunt

us

down

as

well

they

must

have

been

so

disillusioned

have

all

God's

promises

who

we

thought

were

going

to

be

fulfilled

in

this

one

guy

just

gone

in

an

instant

but

Jesus

gives

this

promise

I

will

see

you

again

and

no

one

will

take

your

joy

from

you

the

resurrection

changes

everything

his

death

was

on

purpose

he

is

the

lamb

of

God

who

takes

away

the

sin

of

the

world

we

are

not

alone

he

is

alive

and

he

is

in

charge

of

heaven

and

earth

for

the

sake

of

the

church

we

don't

need

to

fear

persecution

he's

given

us

new

and

eternal

life

that

persecution

can't

touch

and

God's

promises

have

all

become

yes

the

metaphor

of

childbirth

also

picks up

Isaiah

26

and

other

Old

Testament

passages

that

speak

of

the

trouble

that

comes

before

the

Christ

brings

in

God's

eternal

kingdom

let me

just

read

those

few

verses

Isaiah

26

17

to

21

like

a

pregnant

woman

who

writhes

and cries

out

in her

pains

when

she

is

near

to

giving

birth

so

were

we

because

of

you

oh

Lord

and

hear

the

change

your

dead

shall

live

their

bodies

shall

rise

you

who

dwell

in

the

dust

awake

and

sing

for

joy

for

your

dew

is

the

dew

of

light

and

the

earth

will

give

birth

to

the

dead

come

my

people

enter

your

chambers

and

shut

your

doors

behind

you

hide

yourselves

for a

little

while

until

the

fury

has

passed

by

for

behold

the

Lord

is

coming

out

from

his

place

to

punish

the

inhabitants

of the

earth

for their

iniquity

and

in

verse

23

Jesus

uses

the

phrase

in

that

day

in

that

day

is

used

in

the

new

testament

often

to

refer

to

the

end

times

of

history

the

time

of

the

eternal

age

of

the

kingdom

of

God

here's

the

point

of

all

this

Jesus

resurrection

is

the

start

of

a

new

age

Jesus

punishment

of

your

sin

happened

at

the

cross

and

when

Jesus

was

raised

to

new

life

your

new

life

in

the

kingdom

began

that's

why

we

have

the

spirit

because

Christ

has

already

done

everything

to

bring

about

the

kingdom

that

will

never

end

in

that

day

you

will

know

the

father

in

that

day

you

will

have

direct

access

to

the

father

what's

new

after

the

resurrection

is that

Jesus

will

speak

plainly

about

the

father

verse

25

that's

because

God

is

most

clearly

made

known

by

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

as

John

says

later

in

1

John

God

is

love

this

is

how

God

showed

his

love

among

us

he

sent

his

one

and

only

son

into

the

world

that

we

might

live

through

him

this

is

love

not

that

we

love

God

but

that

he

loved

us

and

sent

his

son

as

an

atoning

sacrifice

for

our

sins

you

cannot

know

God

apart

from

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Jesus

I

once

read

about

a

Muslim

woman's

story

of

becoming

a

Christian

and

I

was

really

struck

by

the

first

line

of

her

story

she

said

this

in

Islam

there

are

99

names

for

Allah

not

one

of

them

is

father

do

you

realize

how

arrogant

it

sounds

every

time

you

pray

father

do

you

claim

that

you

know

God

so

personally

you

are

so

good

with

him

that

you

can

call

him

your

father

father

but we

believe

Jesus

words

in

verse

27

let

them

soak

in

the

father

himself

loves

you

if

that

doesn't

give

you

peace

I'm

not

sure

what

will

the

father

himself

loves

you

why

because

you

are

faithful

no

because

you

have

loved

me

says

Jesus

and

have

believed

that

I

came

from

God

he

came

from

the

father

into

the

world

died

and

was

raised

and

ascended

to

the

father's

side

you

have

loved

me

and

believed

that

I

came

from

God

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

has

brought

us

out

of

the

world

and

into

the

love

of

the

father

making

us

the

children

of

God

who

know

God

truly

and

so

the

Christian

life

is

expressed

in

prayerful

dependence

on

our

father

as

we

seek

to

live

for

his

son

we

now

have

direct

access

to

him

because

Jesus

has

opened

up

the

way

ask

and

you

will

receive

that

your

joy

may

be

full

his

ear

is

inclined

to

listen

he

is

wanting

to

provide

Christ

doesn't

even

need

to

ask

on

our

behalf

the

father

will

listen

to

us

because

of

what

Christ

has

done

but

we

have

direct

access

through

Christ

we

got

to

believe

this

not

by

measuring

our

circumstances

but

by

believing

that

Christ

has

achieved

everything

so

that

we

can

pray

to

the

father

confidently

and

notice

that

our

own

joy

is

to

be

part

of

our

motivation

ask

and

you

will

receive

that

your

joy

may

be

full

I

think

we

can

often

talk

about

prayer

as if

it's

a

religious

duty

it's

the

very

essence

of

who

we

are

that

we

know

the

father

that

he

is

helping

us

he

loves

us

because

of

what

Christ

has

done

we

express

our

dependence

on

him

every

single

moment

because

we

want

to

serve

Christ

in

every

single

moment

have

you

experienced

the

joy

of

receiving

what

you

and

others

around

you

need

for

the

gospel

to

transform

your

heart

and

their

heart

receiving

fresh

joy

that

Jesus

has

washed

away

my

sin

so

I

can

have

new

strength

to

fight

the

temptations

of the

world

again

receiving

insight

as you

study

God's

word

so

that

you

can

know

the

truth

about

God

receiving

deep

comfort

in the

hope of

eternal

life

when

sickness

and

death

are

near

receiving

motivation

to

restore

relationships

receiving

the

daily

strength

and

resources

we

need

receiving

a

better

delight

in

God

that

makes

the

promises

of this

world

and the

threats

look like

nothing

Jesus

has

done it

for us

he's

got us

all this

in that

day

because of

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

we will

have

new

life

in

knowing

the

father

and

having

direct

access

to