Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'm going to continue preaching through the
Gospel of John, and we're in chapter 16. And we've been talking
about the work of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in the
salvation of sinners. And we're gonna continue that
down here in verse 17. Yeah, verse 16 and 17, right
around there. The title of the message is Sorrow
Turned to Joy. Sorrow turned to joy. Now Christ
had been speaking to his disciples. This portion of scripture in
John 16 is part of what we call the upper room discourses. It's
when Christ, back in John 13, he stopped speaking to the multitudes
and he took his disciples into this upper room during the time
of the Passover. And he spoke to them privately.
And he was telling them things that, in essence, had to happen
in order for him to redeem his people from their sins. But things
that, humanly speaking, would make them sorrowful. But these
things, if they understood it, and they would eventually, as
they go along, and as he taught them, and as he went through
the experience of the cross, suffering under death, and the
resurrection, they would learn that the things that they're
sorrowing over, they should be rejoicing. Now, that doesn't
mean that they're sadistic or masochistic, you know, they enjoyed
or joyed over the sufferings that Christ went through in his
humanity. But the end of that, the results
of that, the fruit of his death is the salvation of his people. Christ had to go to the cross.
He told him, he said, this is the reason I came to earth. He
came to earth to die. At the beginning of his public
ministry, at his baptism, why was he baptized? You can read
about it in Matthew chapter three, for example. Why was he baptized? Believers in the New Testament
are baptized, immersed in water, as an identification with Christ,
who is their Redeemer. That by His blood on the cross,
He washed away our sins. And that we died with Him legally,
representatively, and that we're raised again with Him. And it's
a testimony to the fact that we are saved from our sins. by His death on the cross, and
the success of that in righteousness by His resurrection from the
dead. But Christ was not a sinner. When the Bible says that He was
made sin, it doesn't mean that He was made a sinner. It does
not mean that He was corrupted with the sins of His people.
He was made sin only by imputation, and that's a word you need to
learn. to impute, to charge, to account. The Bible says, who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that
justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died, yea rather, is risen again. And at the right hand
of the Father, making intercession for us. Now that charging is
imputing. If you go out and you charge,
if you use a credit card, and you buy something on the credit
card, the amount of that purchase is charged, imputed to you. Well, before the foundation of
the world, God chose a people and gave them to Christ and placed
all of the charges on his account. And Christ willingly took those
charges upon Himself and in the covenant of grace basically said,
I'll repay it. I'll pay the charge. It was imputed
charge to Him. So God does not impute or charge
the sins of His people to them, He charged them to Christ. But
what does He charge to me? Well, Romans chapter four and
verse six, Paul described it this way, using Abraham and David
as an example, where he described the blessedness of the man. This
is Romans 4, 6, the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth,
charges, accounts, reckons, righteousness without works. I have a righteousness
charged to me. that I had no part in producing. I didn't pay one penny of that
account. Christ paid it all. That's why
he's called in Jeremiah chapter 23, verses five and six, and
Jeremiah chapter 33, verses 15 and 16, the Lord our righteousness. That those who are justified
say, in the Lord have I righteousness, you see. And so when it says
in 2 Corinthians 5 21, for God made him sin, Christ who knew
no sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. That's what it's talking about in those verses. So this is why he had to die. But now the disciples, they're
sinful human beings, just like any person, sinners saved by
grace. And they were men especially
endowed with the power of the Spirit to perform miracles, all
except Judas, he was a false apostle and he's gone. And Christ
told him, look at verse 16, that's where we'll go first. He says,
a little while and you shall not see me. And again, a little
while and you shall see me because I go to the Father. A little
while you'll not see me. He's going to be arrested. He's going to suffer, to bleed,
to die, to do what? To pay the debt that was charged
to him. The sins, the demerit of the
sins of His people accounted to Him. All of them were laid
on Him. The iniquity of all of His people was laid on Him. That
means it was charged to Him, counted to Him. Didn't corrupt
Him. Did not contaminate Him. But
He became legally responsible for the sins of His people accounted
to Him. And so he says, he's going away. to suffer, to bleed, to die.
He was going to be buried. He was going to lay in that grave
three days and nights. And then they wouldn't see him. But then he'd be resurrected
from the dead because he paid the debt. That's what redemption
is about. That's what satisfaction is about. Christ paid the debt in full.
He left nothing undone. He said in John 19 30, it's finished. And then he gave up the ghost.
So he didn't leave anything for his people to pay. You know,
these people who say, well, he died for everybody conditionally,
and they have to meet a certain condition for it to work in their
case. And whatever that condition is,
it depends on what denomination. That is a lie. That is a false
gospel. He died to fulfill all conditions,
to secure the salvation of all His people, given to Him before
the foundation of the world. And they will be saved. Righteousness
has been imputed to them, and life is going to be given to
them. We've been talking about that in the work of the Spirit.
So He went away, they didn't see, but He came back again,
resurrected from the dead, and they saw Him again, and then
He went away again. He went to the Father. He ascended
unto the Father as the successful Redeemer of His people. And then it says in verse 17,
John 16, then said some of His disciples among themselves, What
is this that he saith unto us? A little while and you shall
not see me. And again, a little while and
you shall see me. And because I go to the Father.
What is he talking about? Now, I want you to think about
something. If you go through the Gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you're going to see that Christ
told them what these things mean. But again, they are sinful, weak,
pitiful human beings. So am I. So are you. And so many times, our happiness,
our joy, and our sorrow is determined by our circumstances. And you
say, well, that's only natural. That's exactly right. It's natural. But here's what the Lord God
tells us about our lives here on earth and eternal life if
we're a believer. It tells us, and people say this
all the time now. I'm not telling you anything
new. People say this all the time, but to put this in our
minds in practice is difficult. And what do they say all the
time? They say God is in control. I see signs around town sometimes.
God is in control. Some big disaster happens. God's
in control. Well, He is. God is the sovereign
governor, supreme, the sovereign, supreme governor of this world. He didn't, as some of the old
fathers, wind it up like a clock and then go away and let it wind
down. No, God is sovereign, He's in
control. And He tells us in Romans 8,
28, you may know this verse. He says, all things work together
for good to them that love God, who are the called according
to His purpose. And His purpose there is to glorify
Himself in the salvation of His people by His grace through Christ. So He had told them these things,
but they're human, and they're weak, and their happiness and
their joy was determined by His physical presence with them.
And to think that he's going away, and especially that he's
going to die, it caused them, they were perplexed. And look
at verse 18, it says, they said, therefore, what is this that
he saith a little while? We cannot tell what he saith.
Now verse 19, now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask
him and said unto them, do you inquire among yourselves of that
I said a little while? And you shall not see me? And
again, a little while, and you shall see me? So he knows what
they're talking about. He knows all. In verse 20 it
says, Verily, verily, I say unto you that you shall weep and lament. Now when he was arrested and
going through suffering, sorrows, they did, they wept, they lamented.
And I think about believers even today, all believers in every
generation. We weep and we lament, sorrow,
that's what that is. He says, verily, verily, I say
unto you that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall
rejoice. Now, what do you mean the world
shall rejoice? Well, that's the unbelieving
world. The Jews, the unbelieving Jews, the Romans, Caesar, Pontius Pilate, They
rejoiced when Christ died on that cross. They looked upon
him as an insurrectionist, and the Jews as a blasphemer. They
rejoiced, the world, because we finally got him. We finally
shut him up. And he says to his disciples,
you're gonna weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. And
he says in verse 20 now, and you shall be sorrowful, but here's
the key, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. Now, the world's rejoicing, the
world's joy will eventually be turned into sorrow. Because at
some point in time, they're gonna have to go meet the Lord. You
may have a happy, happy life here on this earth. You may be
prosperous. You may be healthy. You may have
all the money that you need or want. You may have the biggest
barns filled with the most valuable materials. You may be intelligent. You may be a genius like Einstein. You may have everything that
the world can offer and the world admires. But my friend, it is
appointed unto men once to die, and after that, the judgment.
You may be happy today, but if you die in your sins without
Christ, without being washed in His blood and clothed in His
righteousness, If you die in that state, your joy today will
be turned into eternal sorrow and lamentation. You see, a person
who goes through life and has all of the best things of life,
Christ taught this in a parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Lazarus was a sick man. The rich man, he dwelt sumptuously. And a lot of people go through
life thinking that if I've got a lot of money, if I've got my
health, if I've got a lot of knowledge, then automatically
that means I'm blessed of God. Well, my friend, let me tell
you something. If you have all of that and never come to see
your sins and your need of Christ and the grace of God and a righteousness
you cannot produce, and you die in your sins, having your sins
charged to you instead of Christ, my friend, those things that
you rejoiced at, they're curses. They're curses. their delusions. The Bible says in Acts 17 31
that God has appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained in
that he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath
raised him from the dead. My favorite hymn that I quote
all the time, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. And I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand. All other ground is sinking,
Sam. So whether I'm rich or poor, whether I'm smart or dumb, whether
I'm healthy or sick, if I don't have Christ, As my surety, my
sins imputed to Him, His righteousness to me. As my substitute, to take
my place under the law and keep that law perfectly. And as my
redeemer, to die for my sins, satisfy the justice of God. If
I don't have Christ, then all of my joy will be turned into
sorrow. But he tells his disciples, and
this is a blessing, your sorrow shall be turned into joy. And
let's read on, verse 21. He said, a woman, when she is
in travail, that is birth pains, hath sorrow because her hour
is come. But as soon as she is delivered
of the child, she remembers no more the anguish for the joy
that a man is born into the world. Going through, you ladies who've
had babies, you went through that pregnancy and you may have
had morning sickness, you may have had all kinds of problems
physically, just the way you feel. And then you go through
the birth pains, what he's talking about here, the sorrow of birth,
labor pains. But when that baby is born healthy,
then all that sorrow is turned into joy. And that's the way
it is with Christ and his people. Oftentimes in the Bible, his
sufferings unto death is compared to a woman in labor. In other words, Christ went through
that labor and out of that labor comes his children healthy. He didn't die for anybody who
perishes in hell. He has no stillborn children. He brings forth nothing but sinners
saved by grace and sure for heaven based upon the merits of His
obedience unto death. Look at verse 22. And you now therefore have sorrow,
Christ speaking to His disciples, but I will see you again and
your heart shall rejoice. And your joy no man taketh from
you. You realize the things that give
us joy in this earth, somebody can take it from us. If you got
a lot of money, somebody can steal your money. If you've read
history, back in the 30s when the stock market crashed, people
went from being millionaires to jumping out of windows to
kill themselves. Just like that. You have health. All of a sudden, a little germ
enters your body, or a virus, and your health is gone. You
might have a lot of knowledge, a lot of intelligence, but something
might happen to your brain, a brain injury, and all that's gone.
You see what I'm saying? All that joy can be taken away,
but this joy that we have in Christ, this eternal joy, it
can never be taken away. It's based upon the glorious
person of Christ who never changes and cannot change. Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's based upon a work
that he accomplished to bring righteousness, and that righteousness
can never be taken away from God's people. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justified. And
it can never change, it can never be defiled. It's the perfect
robe of righteousness in which we stand before God and are blessed
forever. So he says, verse 23, and in
that day you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He'll give
it to you. In that day of rejoicing, all these questions that they
had that perplexed them and concerned them, they'll be gone. And you
have free access to the Father in prayer and in worship and
in service. And whatever you ask in the name
of Christ, He'll give it to you. Now that's not talking about
anything you ask for. Somebody said, well, if you ask
for a million dollars in the name of Christ, He'll give it
to you. And if you don't get it, they'll say, well, you didn't
believe in it. That's not what it's talking about. He's talking
about the joy that can never be taken away. So those are things
and blessings that pertain to salvation and our state and standing
before a holy God. Asking for those things that
are according to the will of God to glorify Christ and that
would do us good and not harm. Now who knows better? Think about
it this way. And here, the keys to prayer.
What are the keys to prayer? Well, praying unto the Father
through the Son. In other words, you don't pray
saying things like this, Lord, I've been a good person today,
now reward me based on that. That's not a proper prayer. That
doesn't glorify the Father or the Son. That's you coming trying
to earn a debt. That's a mercenary. But we pray
to the Father through the Son on the basis of His merit. We have a great high priest who's
passed through into the heavens. So we come as sinners seeking
mercy, seeking grace, seeking the unconditional love that God
has for His people. That's the key. And next is praying
in the spirit, that is, as inspired by the spirit. And sometimes
the spirit has to intervene and he intercedes for us, because
a lot of times I don't know what to pray for. And sometimes the
things I pray for are just foolish anyway, and would not do me any
good. So we pray, thy will be done. I know what I want. And there's
nothing wrong with praying for what I want, unless what I want
is against God's revealed word. If I prayed, Lord, I wanna murder
somebody, that's crazy. Or I wanna rob a bank. You see,
you don't pray that way. We pray within the revealed will
of God, but we pray His will be done. Thy will, not mine. And then look at it this way
too. If you have little children and you ask them, well, what
do you want for your birthday? Let's say a six-year-old child
says, well, I want a brand new car. Well, I hope you have sense
enough to know better than to get a six-year-old a brand new
car because he doesn't know any better. You're the parent, you
do. Well, that's the way it is with
God and his children. We pray for things a lot of times
that we don't need, and really we think would make us happy
and do us good, but it wouldn't, but our Father knows best. So
when He says you ask things in His name, that he'll give it
to you. He's not talking about God being
some kind of a genie in the bottle. If you have enough faith, he'll
get anything you ask for. He's talking about the blessings
of salvation. And then look at verse 24. Hitherto
have you asked nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive
that your joy may be full. Lord, make my joy full. And how's he gonna do that? By
looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Not
sitting around griping and complaining about what I don't have. That
I don't have enough money or I don't have enough health or
whatever. We as believers, we are allowed
by God to pursue those things in their proper context and order.
but we don't make them our lives. Christ is my life. And he says
in verse 25, these things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs
or parables, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto
you in parables, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.
It's all going to be revealed. There'll be no secrets. God the
Father through the Son by the power of the Spirit and that
joy will well up within the souls of His people without any sorrow,
without any lamentation. That's the goal that God will
bring us to. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, Write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia 3-1-7-0-7. Contact us
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today and may the Lord be with you. you