Before I Go: John 16:16-33

Thank you to our worship team. We're awake and

alive. How are you feeling today? Everybody good?

All right. I have a lot of energy today, so be

forewarned. Our setup team got to sleep in this

morning, so we were here at seven rather than

five. So we're wide awake and ready to go. It

was what a gift it is on those Sundays that that

happens. Before we go to the series, When Ricky's

up here at the end, he's going to give you another

push for Easter, but I'm going to give you a

little different push for Easter, and that is

to say, you know, it's no secret. Easter is a

big Sunday for every church around the world.

It's one Sunday a year. We have two services.

We have a ton of people, all the things that

go into Easter. And we need just an infinite

number more volunteers. And so today is a chance

for you to step up and to sign up to help. And

there's like 12 different places that we need

volunteers. So if you're like, I don't do kids

or I don't do singing or I don't do preaching,

good news, those roles are filled, although we

need some helping kids. But if you were like,

I could come on Saturday and help set up or I

could help with the Easter egg hunt or whatever

it may be, when you leave today, you probably

passed it as you came in, the canopy that's out

there, the shade canopy. On either side, there's

an opportunity for you to sign up and just put

your name. We'd actually love it if you would

put your phone number as well so we can harass

you, I mean, follow up with you between now and

then. We need about 50 volunteers on top of kind

of what we normally do. that I love so much about

you all and love about LBC is that every time

we say, hey, we have a need, you step into it.

And so I'm up here to say we have a need and

we would love for you to kind of show your true

colors, if you will, and just to help us fill

those spots. It would be tremendous. But we're

going to incentivize it even one step further.

If you sign up today for a spot to serve on Easter,

we have some crumble cookie that has been delivered.

And yeah, I know. And you get a crumble cookie.

just by putting your name on there. Please put

your name. Don't sign up your friend or your

spouse just because you want a cookie. And parents,

if you would just help us explain to your eight

-year -old that life is not fair and they don't

get a cookie. The cookies are for whoever volunteers

to sign up just as a fun way to say, hey, we

want to kind of draw all of you there after service.

Let's have some good traction around Easter.

It's two weeks from today. Ricky's going to remind

you of kind of the part you need to do in getting

RSVP'd and all that. save that for him. But the

volunteer role is critical. It's our chance to

shine and to welcome guests and to actually hopefully

convince them, hey, maybe this is a place I want

to come back to next week after Easter. And that

happens because of you. So that'll happen after

the service. If you don't like crumble cookie,

I don't know that you're like a real human being.

So, but that's that. All right, week six of our

Before I Go series with one more week after today.

And then that takes us to Easter and then into

a new series. So we're just kind of cruising

through the year. We've been working our way

through this farewell discourse from Jesus, which

was this conversation between him and his disciples

that he had in this upper room the night before

he was crucified. And as we come into, the Easter

season, we can just feel this more, I think.

I hope that you can. I certainly can. He literally

had, at this point in this conversation that

is going on, he literally has just a matter of

hours, hours before he's handed over to the Roman

officials, and that would kind of initiate, if

you will, all of the... happenings that played

out over his last 24 hours. So in other words,

this is it for Jesus. This is it. These are some

of his final moments, some of his final words

with these guys, and he's spending them with

the people that he was closest to. Very similar

to what I suspect will be true for us someday

when we know we're in our final hours of life,

if the Lord gives us that. it may be sudden,

but if it's not, and we have some awareness,

these are the final hours of my life, I would

imagine the people that will be in the room are

the people that you're closest to and that you

love, your family, your friends, whoever that

may be. And that was certainly true for Jesus.

He shared this evening meal with now his 11.

It started with 12, but we know that early on

in this, just after Jesus had done this incredible

act of washing their feet, Judas peaced out,

if you will, betrayed him. So Judas is left.

He's gone. There's 11 of them sharing this moment

with Jesus. And so we set this up way back when

we started. We set this up as a seven -week series.

And yet, as we read the passage today, if you're

really tuned into your Bible, if you read it,

you kind of get to the end of chapter 16, which

is what we're going to do today. And you're like,

well, it seems like it's over. Because in chapter

17, something different begins to happen. So

13 through 16, Jesus has locked eyes with these

guys, and he's telling them all these things.

Good things, hard things, truthful things, everything.

But then you get to chapter 17, which will be

next week, the conclusion of this series, and

Jesus now begins to pray to the Father. And I

would go on the record to say it's maybe the

greatest prayer ever recorded for us, by the

way. The Lord's Prayer is certainly up there

as well. But he's no longer talking to his disciples

is the point of telling you that. But we included

it in this series because it's a very powerful

way that Jesus ended this. What is that? You

hear that? It's just me? All right. It's been

a long morning. I thought I was rested. Maybe

I'm not. Anyhow, we included it in this series

because it's such a powerful ending to this discourse

that he shared with these disciples. And for

us today, 2 ,000 years later, as we're reading

it together, it's a powerful way for us to end

this series as well. That's next week. The point

is the text today that we are looking at are

the final words from Jesus to these gathered

disciples. Why is it significant? I've told you

several times, but I'll tell you again. It's

significant because they come in a deeply emotional

moment for these guys. They're very emotionally

vulnerable at this point. We've seen this throughout

the series. We've been reading these passages.

The disciples, they're confused. They're anxious.

They're unsettled. I don't know if you've been

in a situation where you know something is coming

that's going to be really difficult. You kind

of get to a point where you're like, well, let's

just get on with it then, right? Like if you

have a scary doctor appointment that's coming

up or a procedure or you're seeing maybe a family

member that you're estranged from or whatever,

it's like you kind of psych yourself up to the

point of like, well, let's just get it over with

then. Let's do this thing. And certainly, this

is one conversation that we've spread over six

weeks. So it feels long, but it wasn't long.

It was one evening that Jesus is sharing with

these guys. But they're kind of at a point of

like, all right, man, you're going. Like, here

we go. We're psyched. We're ready to go. We're

scared. We're unsettled. We're anxious. We're

all these things. He's been telling them about

a time when they will not see him. And then they

will see him again. His words sound mysterious.

They're kind of troubling. But the road ahead,

no doubt, is unsure and it's difficult. And so

how is Jesus going to wrap this up? He turns

his attention to prayer in chapter 17. But before

that, he has some just final words. And we're

going to kind of look at them together and break

it apart. First, Jesus gives us the reality of

sorrow. If you were with us last week, we started

in a similar place. If you can remember this,

I'd be super impressed. By the way, you can always

get it in the church hub or church center up,

so you don't have to have a great memory. But

we started last week with the reality of opposition.

Remember that? Jesus said, hey, if the world

hates you, know that it's hated me. And so he's

just kind of being a realist with them to say,

this is going to be true for you after I'm gone.

And again, he starts with the reality of sorrow.

He's a realist. He wants them to be clear about

what's ahead. And so he helps them to see first

that there's a reality of sorrow that exists

in the world. This is what he said, beginning

in verse 16. In a little while, you will no longer

see me. Again, in a little while, you will see

me. Then some of his disciples said to one another,

what is he telling us? In a little while, you

will not see me again. In a while, you will see

me. And because I'm going to the Father, they

said, what is he saying in a little while? We

don't know what he's talking about. Jesus knew

they wanted to ask him. Imagine that. Jesus knew

they wanted to ask him. And so he said to them,

are you asking one another about what I said?

In a little while, you will not see me again.

And again, in a little while, you will see me.

Truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but

the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful,

but your sorrow will turn to joy. So Jesus begins

with a rather kind of puzzling statement. In

a little while, you and I are seeing me. And

then in a little while again, you will see me

again. And the disciples are rightfully so. They're

very confused. They're whispering among themselves.

You just picture like they're whispering, thinking,

I'm not going to ask him. I'm not going to ask

him. I'm not sure. And Jesus is like, why is

it that you're wondering this? They're confused.

They're talking amongst themselves, trying to

make sense of it. What does he mean? Where is

he going? It's almost like he's speaking to them

in riddles of sorts. Like, you're going to see

me. You're not going to see me. Then you're going

to see me again. You're going to wonder why.

And he's like, I'll clarify for you. What Jesus

is describing is his coming crucifixion, which

was at the door knocking. It was right there.

And shortly thereafter, his resurrection, right?

Soon they will experience a devastating loss.

That's what he's essentially telling them. Their

teacher, their leader, their friend, and ultimately

their hope will be taken from them. And Jesus

does not hide the reality from them. He says

it plainly to them, truly I tell you, you will

weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. Your

reality. will be sorrowful, unlike the reality

of the world, if you will. And we talked about

that word world last week, meaning used to describe

those who oppose God, object or refuse relationship

with their creator, et cetera. If you were in

the carryover this week, tracking along with

us, my goodness, there was some really good stuff

in there, compliments of Preston who does that.

So you should go back and look at that if you

didn't get that. Anyhow, Jesus acknowledges their

sorrow. He doesn't dismiss it. He does not say,

hey, everything's going to be fine. Instead,

he says, you will weep. Like you are actually

going to be sorrowful. This is going to be painful.

It's going to hurt. And there is something deeply

comforting about Jesus's honesty. About Jesus's

honesty. I mean, so much of the... opposition

against the name and claimant gospel that's out

there, people like Benny Hinn and some of those

other people, televangelists, is that they leave

out this part. They leave out this part of the

Christian journey. Like, it's all name and claimant,

wealth and gain, all these things. And Jesus

is like, there's a part to this that is really

sorrowful. There's a part of life that's going

to cause you to weep and mourn and grief temporarily.

That's the issue with the name. No one has a

problem with God blessing you, but you're only

giving them 50 % of the equation, which is that

there's a sorrowful, painful reality to life.

And that's what Jesus is just, in his very realistic

way, he's trying to put before them. And there's

something for me that's deeply comforting about

that honesty, because hands up if you've ever

had a bad day. Hands up if you've ever had like

a dark season. Okay. And the world just shrinks,

doesn't it? And you're like, it's just me. No

one else knows this. No one else knows this pain.

No one else's marriage is like this. No one else's

kids are like this. No one else knows what disability

is like. No one else has the fractured relationships.

Whatever it is, like it just shrinks and you're

in your space of thinking like, it's just me.

And Jesus is like, no, it's the Christian life.

It's the Christian life. Life of following Jesus

is not free from pain, but rather it's a life

where pain is given meaning and direction. You've

heard this quote, I suspect, from C .S. Lewis.

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers

to us in our pleasures. He speaks to us in our

conscience, but he shouts in our pains. You know

that because you've experienced it. Most of my

emergency pastoral, we need you to come now,

kind of calls over 25 years in ministry have

been in the place of pains. Because they're attuned

all of a sudden to, is God in this? Is God in

this hospital room? Is God in this whatever situation

it is? God speaks to us in our pains. Jesus makes

it clear, sorrow is real. Sorrow is, loss is

real. Confusion is real. And of course, this

was all tied to his death and departure. But

you can certainly apply that to what life is

for us today. But there are a few key words mixed

in here that changed kind of the whole tone of

this statement from Jesus. And the words are,

a little while. That's that. That three -word

phrase, a little while, changes the tone of this

whole thing. Jesus says, a little while. In other

words, their sorrow would not have the final

word. Jesus is going to use this really unique

illustration that we're going to read together

to help them see the transformation of sorrow

to joy. So sorrow is real. That's where he started

with. This is going to be your reality. For them,

it was going to be tied to Jesus. death and departure,

and their coming persecution, which they had

no idea at that point just truly how bad it would

be. But he's going to not leave it there. He's

going to take them further, and he's going to

help them to see how this sorrow that's very

real is going to be transformed into joy. And

he uses a very unique description. It's in verse

21, illustration, I should say. It says, when

a woman is in labor, she has pain because her

time has come. But when she has given birth to

a child, she no longer remembers the suffering

because of the joy that a person has been born

into the world. So you also have sorrow now.

But I will see you again. He's speaking of his

resurrection. Your hearts will rejoice and no

one will take away your joy from you. In that

day, you will not ask me anything. Truly, I tell

you, anything you ask the Father in my name,

he will give you. In other words, you're not

going to need me because you have the Holy Spirit.

You have direct access to the Father. You're

not going to ask me anything. You're going to

ask God. You're going to ask the Father. Truly

I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my

name, he will give you. Until now, you have asked

for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive

so that your joy may be complete. So Jesus uses

one of the most powerful images of transformation,

which is childbirth. The pain is real. It's intense.

It's unavoidable, or so I've been told. I don't

know. I was in the room. Seems that way. Seems

like it checks out. The pain is real. It's intense.

It's unavoidable. But it is not meaningless.

It's not meaningless. It's a pain that is very

quickly, hopefully, sorry to you ladies who are

in labor for days, but very quickly it's going

to lead to something. It's a process that produces

what? Life. It gives life. Quite literally. And

in the same way, Jesus, I mean, it's a very vivid,

it's a very profound illustration, but he drives

the point for sure. In the same way the disciples'

sorrow at the cross would give way to resurrection

joy, and their grief would not simply disappear,

it would be transformed. It would be transformed.

And here's the key point to get from this, and

that is God does not always remove sorrow immediately,

but he does always redeem it ultimately. That's

such a key thing to understand. God does not

always remove sorrow immediately, but he does

always redeem it ultimately. When? I have no

idea. I have no idea. And some of you, if we

had the time and we could come up and we had

the time to bring you up here one at a time and

tell us about, you know, hey, tell us about a

season of sorrow for you. some of you are still

waiting for that redemption. But some of you

would be like, yeah, it was six months, and then

you have the other side of that story. But some

of us don't have the other side of that story

yet. And so this is where we just drill down

into the promises of God. God does not always

remove sorrow immediately, but he does always

redeem it ultimately, ultimately. The promise

is not just relief from sorrow, but reversal

of their sorrow. I mean, The danger of, yeah,

I don't even know how to say it. The goal of,

the purpose of pain, you can tell I'm making

this up on the go. The purpose of pain is not

that it would just someday go away, but that

it would be redeemed. And so that you could look

at that hard thing and be like, actually, God

used that in a profound way in my life. Biggest

pain points for me is the disability journey

that we walk with our daughter. But I am distinctly

aware of how God is redeeming that and using

that in profound ways. And so to just go away,

I might miss some of the redemption in that.

Because like, yeah, it was just bad and then

it was gone. No, actually, God did something

in my heart and in my soul to like... Give me

a different perspective and to understand what

redemption looks like and how God will ultimately

redeem all that is sorrowful in a profound way

for his glory, for our good. I've told you this.

I am a better person. I'm a better pastor. I

don't know. Who am I to vote on any of this?

But I'm a better human in every capacity, I think.

Because of a pain in my life. Because of a sorrow

in my life. So it doesn't always get taken away,

but it does always get redeemed ultimately. So

the promise is not just relief from sorrow, but

it's reversal of that sorrow. Jesus told them

again. told them, you also have sorrow now, but

I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice

and no one will take away your joy from you.

Notice the permanence of that promise. No one

will take your joy from you. Can they take your

happiness daily? The stock market goes up, we're

happy. It goes down, we're sad, we're mad. This

happens, we're happy. Our kids get a good doing

well in class and then they're failing. Like

happiness just comes and goes like the sun comes

and goes. Can people take your happy, can life

take your happiness from you every day? Not your

joy. Notice the permanence of that promise. No

one will take your joy from you, which means

then that this is not circumstantial happiness.

This is not based on, depending on favorable

conditions. This is resurrection rooted joy.

Why is Easter a celebration? Because it is a

celebration of something that cannot be taken

from you. It's a resurrection rooted joy, a joy

anchored in the reality that Christ has conquered

death itself. So Jesus is telling his disciples,

your coming sorrow is not wasted. And actually,

and of course, I mean, it's easier said than

believed at that point for them, right? But he's

telling them it's not wasted. It's actually the

doorway. It's the next step to unshakable, permanent

joy. Permanent joy. Just think about the hours

before sunrise. I don't know if any of you have

ever seen that time of day. It's often the darkest

and the coldest of the entire night, just literally

moments before sunrise. I don't know if you've

experienced that. I worked for too many years

at a golf course, and we would get there at like

three in the morning. Those were my glory days.

I would go to Kendra's parents' house. We'd watch

a movie until midnight. I'd leave there. I'd

go sleep in my car at the golf course, and then

I'd get up at 3 and go to work. It was great.

What a life. I have a lot of questions about

the younger version of myself. But we'd start

working at 3 a .m. It's dark. It's cold. 4 a

.m. It's dark. It's cold. 5 a .m. It feels like

it's getting darker and colder. And then... In

the east, here comes the sun. But if you didn't

have a watch to know, like, well, sunrise is

at this time. In fact, mine tells me tomorrow

it's six, not sunset, hasn't clicked over yet.

But I could literally look at my watch and know,

like, this is when the sun's going to come up

tomorrow. And it's right. But if you didn't have

a watch, if you didn't know, you would just be

convinced, like, it's dark and cold forever.

But as it got darker and as it got colder, we're

like, we must be getting close to like opening

time. Yep, it's five o 'clock. Tea time is in

an hour. It's the weirdest thing. But the disciples

stood in that dark hour at the cross, but the

resurrection, the joy of the resurrection, the

light of the resurrection, the resurrection morning,

all of that was coming. And certainly in our

lives, there are moments that feel like the darkest

hour. When prayers seem unanswered, when hope

feels distant, I mean, I literally have people

in this church that have been emailing me and

calling me and texting me, asking me to pray

for the same thing for now going on several years

or more. Like, it's just the dark hour where

prayers seem unanswered, hope feels distant,

and yet Jesus reminds us what? A little while.

So as it gets darker, it gets colder, you're

probably, I say this with a lot of caution, you're

nearing the joy of the resurrection. And what

I'm not saying to you is when that's going to

come because I don't know. But as Jesus has done

all through this conversation with his disciples,

he's going to give them another promise of hope.

And it's the assurance of access to the Father.

This is the beginning of verse 25. I've spoken

these things to you in figures of speech. A time

is coming when I will no longer speak to you

in figures, but I will tell you plainly about

the Father. On that day, you will ask in my name,

and I am not telling you that I will ask the

Father on your behalf, for the Father himself

loves you. Like, you have this connection with

the Father. He loves you because you have loved

me. and have believed in me, have faith in me

that I came from God. I came from the Father

and have come into the world. Again, I'm leaving

the world and going to the Father. So Jesus shifts

here to another profound promise, which is that,

hey, good news, you will have direct access to

God. Remember that whole, it's better for you

that I go away, that the helper may come? Like,

this is some of the perk of that. You will have

direct access to God. He says the time is coming

when we will no longer speak, he will no longer

speak in figures, but plainly about the Father.

And then he says something so remarkable. On

that day you will ask in my name, and I'm not

telling you that I will ask the Father on your

behalf, for the Father himself loves you. In

other words, you can cut me out. You don't need

the middle man. Because you have loved me and

have believed that I came from God. This is an

incredible shift here. The disciples had walked

with Jesus physically. I mean, literally. They

knew him. They touched him. They listened to

him. They smelled him. They watched him. All

the things, literally. He said, it's going to

change. No longer will it be physical Jesus,

but soon they'll have something even more profound,

which is direct relationship with the Father

because of him and through him by the Spirit.

They would not be abandoned. They would not be

left alone. And if you caught it, Jesus summarized

the purpose of his life. If you caught it there,

he says, I came from the Father into the world,

had a mission to do. He did that mission. And

now I am leaving the world and going back to

the Father. That is essentially what we call

the gospel in one sentence. Like, what is the

gospel? It's that Jesus descended this Christmas,

right? Came into our world, incarnation, lived

a human life, died a human death for the forgiveness

of sins. And then... Return to the Father. That's

what he summarized. I came from the Father, I

entered the world, now I'm leaving and going

back to the Father. That's the gospel. He entered

a broken world, he would leave through the cross,

he returns in victory. And because of this, we

now have access, not distant, not hesitant, but

rather personal access to God. Jesus is reshaping

on the spot, in this upper room, Jesus is reshaping

their understanding of God. Quite literally,

like not as a distant or inaccessible, divine,

mysterious being, although there is a mystery

to God for sure, but rather as a loving father

who they have access to, who hears them, and

who if we ask in his name and in his will, he

hears us and he responds to us. I don't know

if you've ever had that awkward experience of

like you're going to someone's house and you

walk up and the door is partially opened and

you're like, what? Do I knock? Do I just go in,

right? Like, it's partially open, so you're unsure.

Like, does it mean come in, or am I welcome?

You hesitate. Should I knock? You wonder if anybody

will answer. And then, of course, you know, you

hear, like, hey, come in, come in, come in, come

in, come in. You belong here. I'm expecting you.

That's a picture of what Jesus has done through

his life, his death, and his resurrection. He

has opened the door to the Father, which means

then that we don't approach as strangers timidly.

Like, I don't know, should I go in? Should I

knock? Should I? But rather we come as confident,

bold, beloved children of God. Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

4. Therefore, since we have a great high priest

who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the

Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

Remember how chapter 16 started. I tell you these

things that you may not drift away. So here it

is again in Hebrews. Hold fast to that confession.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable

to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who

has been tempted in every way as we are and yet

without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne

of grace with boldness. You come as confident

children of God so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help us in time of need. That's

what Jesus was saying to them. Like, there's

going to come a day where you're not going to

ask me. And ask the Father directly, like in

confidence, in faith, believing that he hears

you, believing that you are entitled to stand

before him and to make your request in a spirit

of reverence, no doubt. God does not owe us one

single thing, but he gives us many things. And

he responds to the cries of our hearts and the

needs and the desires of our hearts because of

Jesus. And then you come to the final portion

of this. I have like such strict warnings to

be done on time because there's like too many

kids outside. They're going to take over this

place. So we're going to get done on time today.

You come to the final portion of this and Jesus

gives one of the best. And personally, I think

one of just one of my favorite promises in the

entire Bible. It's the promise of peace through

Christ's victory. And it says it this way. His

disciples said. Look, now you're speaking plainly

and not using any figurative language. Now we

know that you know everything. You just want

to knock these guys in the head. That's what

it took, but anyhow. Now we know that you know

everything and don't need anyone to question

you. By this we believe that you came from God.

Jesus responded to them, Do you now believe?

Indeed, an hour is coming, check this out, and

has come when each of you will be scattered to

his own home and you will leave me alone. This

little squad is going to break up and it's going

to get really hard. You will be scattered to

your own home and you will leave me alone. Yet

I am not alone because the Father is with me.

I have told you these things. This is how he

wraps up this farewell discourse. I have told

you these things so that in me you may have peace.

You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous.

I have conquered the world. What a, like, mic

drop moment for Jesus. Like, you could argue

this is the climax of the whole passage. In verse

33, Jesus gives one of the most comforting promises

of all scripture. You will have suffering in

this world. He's a realist. Be courageous. Why?

Because you're strong. No, but because I have

conquered the world, Jesus said. Again, this

is not a denial of hardship. It's not a shallow

reassurance. It is a profound promise of peace.

It's not the absence of trouble, but the presence

of victory in the midst of it. And it's interesting

to watch the disciples' response here. They think

they finally understand him, right? confidence

probably Peter because why wouldn't Peter be

the confident one now you are speaking clearly

like okay we get it we we believe that you came

from God we got five minutes to interact with

you in this newfound belief but Jesus gently

challenges him like do do you now believe because

when you get hauled off so to speak to your homes

and scattered each to your home and you don't

have the assurance and the comfort of being in

this room together, do you now believe? Do you

now believe you will leave me all alone? And

even in their confidence, Jesus knows their weakness.

They will fail. You will fail. I will fail. They

will run. They will drift. They will abandon.

And yet this is crucial. His peace, His promise

of peace, I should say, to them is not dependent

upon their performance. It's not dependent upon

their response or their performance. It's just

a gift. That's what it is. Like, I'm giving this

to you. In this world, you will have suffering.

Jesus does not sugarcoat reality. Trouble is

not a possibility. It's a certainty. And that's

where we started this morning, right? With the

reality of sorrow. It's where Jesus started.

It's where we started this morning in the text.

The word used here suggests pressure, affliction,

and distress. Life in a broken world will include

hardship. And faith in Jesus does not remove

us from that reality, but it anchors us within

it. So be courageous, take heart, not because

of circumstances, because they're less than ideal,

but because of Christ. I, Jesus says, have overcome

the world. I have conquered the world. Notice

the tense, have, past tense, already happened.

Thank you, good Friday. Thank you, Easter Sunday.

Even before the cross, Jesus speaks of victory

as already secured. And the cross would look

like defeat, no doubt. In that moment, it would

look like defeat, but it would be the very means

of triumph. And his victory for them and for

us is not partial, it's complete. And so here's

the last thing for today. Our peace is grounded.

or rooted, or however you want to say it, in

his victory. Not in our strength, not in our

understanding, not in our control, but in Jesus.

There's a great story told of a painting competition

where artists were asked to depict perfect peace.

Like, here's a canvas, paint it. And most of

the artists painted calm lakes, serene landscapes,

waterfalls. blue skies, but the winning painting

in this competition was different. It showed

a violent storm, waves crashing, lightning, winds

raging, but in the corner of the painting, if

you look, there's a bird just tucked on a rock,

or a small bird just in a rock in the corner

of it, sitting on its nest, calm and undisturbed.

And that was the winning perfect piece picture

that was painted. And I think it's a great illustration

of this type of peace that Jesus is promising

them. It's not the absence of storms, but it

is calm in the midst of them. And the peace that

Jesus offers, it's not fragile. It's not temporary.

It's not dependent on external calm. And I've

heard it described this way. This is not mine.

I ripped this off from somebody. This piece is

described this way. Three things. It's relational.

In other words, it's in me, Jesus says. It's

resilient. that it can coexist alongside of sorrow

and suffering, and it is rooted in Christ's victory.

It's relational, it's resilient, and it's rooted

because of Jesus. So for followers of Jesus,

peace is not something that we chase, it's not

something that we manufacture on our own, rather

it's something that we receive in Christ, that

we receive in Christ. So how do we live into

this promise? Because certainly this is one of

those easier said than done passages in the Bible,

am I right? I mean, if I just tell you, hey,

just stop thinking about the thing that is the

deepest pain in your life for the last five years,

be like, okay, that's not helpful. So how do

you live into the promise? Because certainly

it is easier said than done. I think there's

a few things. First, we can't and shouldn't be

surprised by it, nor can we let it define us.

It is just a reality of living as a human in

a broken world. You will have sorrow, you will

have suffering, but it cannot define us and it

cannot take us by surprise. When hardship comes,

we can't assume that it's something gone wrong

spiritually. Might it be? It could be. But it's

more than likely just the reality of living side

by side with broken, fallen people. Jesus said

it would happen. But trouble is not your identity.

It's your reality. But it is not your identity.

Secondly, we have to make sure that we are abiding

in Christ. That was the portion that Joe preached

two weeks ago, right? Making our home in Christ

because peace is not found in circumstances.

Rather, it is in relationship. And so as we make

that daily decision to abide in Christ through

prayer, through Bible reading, through being

here in community with one another, through practicing

our faith, we experience that peace. And I also

have to hold on to what is certain in the midst

of what is uncertain. And what is certain is

who Jesus is. What is uncertain is everything

else. Everything else is uncertain, but what

is certain is who Jesus is. And so I hold on

to that. I hold on to that, that Christ has overcome.

Not will someday, but already has. So there's

a victory today to claim. And then finally, I

think we have to choose courage. I didn't say

choose happiness. I don't even think you can

choose joy. I think joy is a fruit of the Spirit.

It has to be generated by the Spirit of God in

you. But you can choose to be courageous. Being

courageous is a choice, a choice to trust what

Jesus has said over what I'm currently feeling

and experiencing. How many of you know that you

give too much bandwidth to your feelings? I do

too. I'm in my head all the time. I'm in my circumstances

all the time. And you have to pull back from

those and lean on what is true. And be certain

of what is true. The disciples would soon face

the dark reality of the cross. Their world would

collapse before it would be rebuilt. It would

collapse before it would be rebuilt. But Jesus

gave them something that would carry them through.

And it was the promise of peace. It's not the

kind that the world gives. It's not temporary

relief. But it is deep, unshakable peace rooted

in his victory. And that same promise is for

us today, my friends. I just see so many of your

faces and I know so many of your stories. And

I just, it would do nothing greater in my heart

than just to speak that over you and know that

you believe it. Know that you believe it. Even

if you... don't see it yet. Like, it's still

dark, the sun has not risen, but it's coming.

We know that. And so we hold on to that promise

of peace. The same promise is for us today. In

your uncertainty, in your grief, in your questions,

in your struggles, Jesus says, in me you have

peace. Not in your phone, not in your social

media, not in your friends, not in unhealthy

addictions, not in hobbies. not in working more

hours, not in avoiding people. In me, you have

peace. The storm will rage, the night will feel

dark, but the victory has been won. And so you

take heart, my friend, because Jesus has overcome

the world. Amen. Let's pray together. Father,

thank you for your promise of peace to us through

Jesus. I will go first if it helps others to

go second in saying that. Too often, I'm in my

own head. I'm in my own emotions. I'm in my own

circumstances. And I lose sight of the promise

of peace that comes to us as we abide in Christ.

And so I pray for my friends in the room today

whose lives are just difficult. Whatever that

one or 10 things are that threaten to steal our

peace, God, we surrender those to you in the

power, the name of Jesus, believing that in Jesus

we have peace, we have perfect peace. Take heart.

In a little while, in a little while, you will,

your sorrow will be turned to joy. And so for

the season that we're in, for the little while

that we continue to wait through, we trust that

you are ever working, always active, always near,

and always aware, God, of those deep desires

of our hearts, the pains that caused us to awaken

to the reality of who you are and what you want

to do in our lives. Lord, may we be responsive

to that. Thank you for the gift of this day.

Thank you for the gift of your word to us. Thank

you for this farewell discourse from Jesus. Words

of comfort to our hearts today. We love you and

trust you in Jesus' name. Amen.