So, Lord, may you graciously
help me. I would turn your prayerful attention to John's Gospel, chapter
16, and reading for a text, verse 33. John's Gospel, chapter 16,
and verse 33. These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.' Jesus is speaking here to his
eleven disciples. Judas has already left and gone
out with that intent to betray the Lord Jesus to his enemies. But he is speaking here to encourage
them and we have in these three chapters in John's Gospel, chapter
14, 15 and 16, this discourse that the Lord Jesus has with
his disciples, encouraging them What lay before him was Gethsemane,
the trials, the cruel mocking, and then the crucifixion. That's what lay before him. But
he, with all that before him, is concerned for his disciples. He is concerned that they be
upheld and kept and blessed. In John's Gospel chapter 14,
let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. He is concerned about the state
of the disciples. He is concerned for their peace. And we have that in this text.
These things that these three chapters, that he's just been
discoursing with the disciples regarding these things, I have
spoken unto you. And he gives us the reason why
he has spoken these things, that in me ye might have peace. The purpose then of his discourse
with the disciples at this time was that they might have peace. He knew that they were coming
to a very troubling time. He knew that what lay before
them, as he says in the verse before, behold the hour cometh,
yea, is now come. This idea of the hour coming
is very much in John's Gospel. He speaks many times through
John's Gospel of his hour not yet come, and therefore he was
not taken and killed by wicked men earlier on in his ministry,
but at the end of John's In these chapters at the end, he then
says the hour is come, because now was the time that he would
pass through death and into everlasting glory. This was the hour is now
come. Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come, that ye shall be scattered. Jesus knew that the
disciples were about to undergo a terrifically difficult time for
their faith, a time when their peace naturally would have been
shattered, their time of of confidence in their God was about to undergo
a tremendous, shattering experience. Because the one that they had
loved and the one that they had been with, as he had been their
master for these three years, as they were the disciples, then
this one was going to be taken from them. He's going to be,
by wicked hands, crucified, falsely accused, ridiculed, We read, this is your hour and
the power of darkness. This was going to be a very dark
time for the Lord Jesus and he knew that this would also be
a very dark and difficult time for his disciples. These things I have spoken unto
you that in me ye might have peace. So the Lord Jesus desires
for his people that they may have a true inner peace in the
midst of what was going to take place, which was going to be
outward great consternation, great difficulties, and great
sadnesses, and things which were going to perplex them greatly,
that you may have peace. You see, this is what the Lord
Jesus desired for his people, and he is has said that earlier
in John's Gospel, chapter 14, verse 27. Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. So the Lord Jesus desires this
inner peace that they may have a security, a stability, so that
when everything else seems to fall by the wayside, everything
else seems to be shaken, that they may still be able to say,
like the Shunammite woman, who, in Elisha's day, when she'd lost
her son, her son had died, and people asked her, is it well
with thy husband? Is it well with thy child? Is
everything well? And she replies, it is well. But your son's dead. But she
believed that it was well. And you see, we need that inner
peace. It does not mean that outward
circumstances are going to be conducive to peace at all, and
indeed with the disciples. They were anything but conducive
to peace. They were about to follow their
master into Gethsemane. He was going to be taken by wicked
hands. There was going to be those band
of soldiers and all those that came into the garden of Gethsemane.
They were going to bind Jesus and take him away. They were
going to try him and falsely accuse him and mock him. These things I have spoken unto
you that in me you might have peace. So here the Lord Jesus
is showing that the centre of the peace is going to be in himself. It is not going to be separate
from Him. It's going to be in union with
Him. And of course, Jesus has just
spoken in this discourse, I am the true vine, and my Father
is the husbandman. And He says, I am the vine, ye
are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. The union that there
needs to be, you see, between the Lord's people and Himself. And in that union, That is where
the peace comes. That is where the security comes.
Because everything else is unstable. But the Lord Jesus and his great
work of redemption, as he speaks later on in this verse, that
he has overcome. He's overcome it all. And therefore,
though they are being overcome at the moment, even though they
are going to be deluged with great trouble, yet to realise
that ultimately, the foe that is their greatest enemy has been
judged. In me ye might have peace. And then Jesus makes this statement,
in the world ye shall have tribulation. And this is what God has appointed
for us here below. In the world ye shall have tribulation. There is going to be troubles
here below. It is not something that we can
avoid. It is not something that we should
see as being separate from what God's purposes are for us. And His purposes, you see, we
read also in Timothy, second epistle of Timothy chapter 3
and verse 12. Yea, and all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And earlier in this
same chapter that we read together, he talks about that and about
the fact that in chapter 15 of John's Gospel, we read these
things. These things I command you, in
verse 17, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love his own. But because you are not of the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. So here we have one of the types
of tribulation that the Lord's people come into. is persecution. That the world, with its system,
with its ambitions, with its aspirations, is in contradiction
to the life of godliness that seeks the glory of God, seeks
to live to Him, seeks to show forth His praise. It's in direct
opposition to this world which is proud, self-seeking, self-glorifying
and denying the Lord Jesus Christ. These things I have spoken unto
you that in me ye might have peace. So the Lord Jesus desires
for these people to have peace and these are his disciples.
He wants them to have their inner peace but he realizes that in
the world ye shall have tribulation. Peter, speaking to people that
were struggling with many disappointments, says these things in 1 Peter
4 verse 12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened
unto you. So we are to realize that God
has, for his own glory and for our good, he has appointed a
pathway for us to walk. And it is a pathway that he himself
walked, of course. He suffered, he suffered much
in this life, the Lord Jesus did. And so therefore we are
to be followers of Him, we are to take up our cross, we are
to do what He has asked us to do in our lives and with that
will come this suffering at times in the world. ye shall have tribulation. So one of the ways in which we
get tribulation is because of persecution, because of following
the Lord Jesus and what he says and what he does and what he
wants us to do with our lives will bring persecution. And perhaps if we look again
in Peter's epistle, this will show us something of Perhaps
what you young people experience at times in 1 Peter and chapter
4 and verse 2, that he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past of your life may suffice us to have wrought
the will of the Gentiles. This is 1 Peter 4 verse 3 now.
when ye walked in lasciviousness, that's sexual wantonness, lusts,
excess of wine, revelings, banquetins, and abominable idolatries, wherein
they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same
excess of riot, speaking evil of you. So here, this was, Peter
is saying that there comes a persecution on God's people because they
will not conform to this world. They will not go in these ways
as described here, walking in lasciviousness, lust, excess
of wine, revelings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries. You
see, if you think of today's idea of a student life and what
they want to do with their lives, and they're free, you're only
young once, and all these sort of ideas, this is the pressure
that is upon us to conform to such a lifestyle, to do away
with the standards of God and godliness. And, you see, Peter
says this brings a persecution. This brings something that is
painful to bear. Speaking evil of you. So those
who do not walk in that way, you see, they feel the public
scorn. They feel the fact that the world
doesn't know why they don't run. wherein they think it strange
that ye run not with them, to the same excess of right speaking
evil of you." So this is this group of temptations, or you
could say a type of temptation, which is associated with persecution. And the Lord Jesus, of course,
mentions this himself on the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed
are ye when you are persecuted for righteousness sake. He says
that you will be. And you see, we need to then
not be surprised, although obviously when it comes to us having to
take up our cross, when it comes to us to feel the public scorn,
when it comes to us to feel all the effects of this tribulation,
then it's hard for us. But you see the Lord Jesus is
praying here and saying to them, these things I have spoken unto
you that in me ye might have peace. So in this tribulation,
in these difficulties, The Lord Jesus is wanting his people to
have that peace of God, that peace, to know that God is with
them, that God is going before them, and that though they are
walking through difficult things, and the Bible shows this very
clearly, that it is a difficult pathway, and therefore we need
that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to uphold us and to keep
us, in this form of persecution. But that is not the only type
of tribulation that the Lord's people walk through. We can think
of another class of tribulations that the Lord's people walk through,
which are because they are sons of God, because they are the
Lord's people. And we read in Hebrews chapter
12, we read that Hebrews 12 verse 4, Ye have not
yet resisted unto blood striving against sin, and ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son. whom he receiveth. Well, chastening, we read, no
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. We're not expected to enjoy chastening. God does not expect us to enjoy
it, but he does expect us to realize it is necessary, that
we must pass through this way because it produces such a vital
end. You see, for if ye are without
chastening, then are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore, Now
no chastening, that's in verse 11 of chapter 12 of Hebrews.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. You see, the Lord is saying,
in the world ye shall have tribulation. Tribulation coming from persecutions,
from you doing what's right, following the word of God and
people laughing at you, ridiculing you. people saying you're old-fashioned,
people saying that it doesn't matter, just enjoy yourself. All those things which we are
to stand against, you must, through much tribulation, enter in the
kingdom. So there's those trials to do
with persecution, and these trials to do with the fact that the
Lord is chastening his people at times. He is making them feel
the rod, so that they may not continue, you see. not continue
in wrong ways. And you see, we read that this
is an ongoing thing, that this is not just something that happens
to a new Christian convert and then never happens again. No,
the Lord deals with us, you see, as sons and daughters. Revelation
3 verse 19, it says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten,
be zealous therefore and repent. You see this is an ongoing thing
and of course in the account in John's Gospel just earlier
in chapter 15 he is speaking also of that need
of correction. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth
fruit, that means a Christian that's walking godly, that's
bearing fruit, that's showing forth the praise of God in their
lives. You'd think, well, that sort
of Christian, God will leave alone. That sort of Christian,
God doesn't need to chase him, that sort of Christian. Well
listen to this, every branch in me that beareth not fruit
he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth
it, he prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. You see, there's a needs be,
and this is what God does. And so, in the world ye shall
have tribulation. This is what God has appointed.
And when we look at the ends for which God does this, the
fact that it's for our real good, for his honour and glory, for
the vindication that we are truly his people. You see, that was
the problem in Job's day. Satan said about Job, the only
reason he served God was because he had everything so good in
his life. And therefore he served God really
just for the material benefits that he got from being a child
of God. And it was not until Job was
put in that furnace of affliction that it was determined that Job
did not serve God just for the external things. He still served
God. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him. You see, it shows a clinging
to God when everything else goes away. And you see, this is so
precious for the people of God, that we may be amongst those.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation. So we spoke of tribulation from
persecution, tribulation from the chastening hand of God that
he does to all his people. He chastens them, he deals with
them as sons in love. He deals with them for their
good, that they may be fruit-bearing branches and if they're already
fruit-bearing branches he purges them that they may bring forth
more fruit. But we can think of another type
of of chastening as well. You see, we're living in a world
that is against the Word of God. And today there's much more open
immorality and ungodliness than there perhaps was on an open
level perhaps a hundred years ago. And you see, we're more
living, not as bad, thankfully, but more in the direction of
the society that Lot lived in when he went and lived in the
city of Sodom, although it was terrible there. But if we read
in the second epistle of Peter and chapter 2 and verse 7, We
read about the wickedness of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and we read, And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation
of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling
among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from
day to day with their unlawful deeds. So here it doesn't seem
that this particular aspect was that they were getting at Job,
sorry, getting at Lot, it wasn't that they were picking on him
at the moment for his upright stand, it was just the very fact
that he had to listen to their ungodly ways, their ungodly thoughts,
their ungodly deeds. He constantly listened to what
was going on and it grieved him every day. And you see, that's
a tribulation to the people of God, to live in a world that
naturally loves evil and delights in evil and thinks it's funny
and thinks it's good and thinks it's right. But you see, Lot
was vexed, we read, with the filthy conversation of the wicked. And perhaps some of you are in
situations where you can't help being in that situation. You're
amongst people and their conversation is far from the things of God,
far from honouring God, but much more going over the wickedness
and the sinfulness of the things of this world. But then there
are, in the Lord's people's pathway, there are those dark providences
that come into our pathway. The things that we cannot understand,
the things that we look not for, perhaps as it was with Job. There was those dark providences.
Suddenly he lost his children, he lost his wealth, he lost his
authority in so many ways. The dark providences of God. And it's a tribulation for the
Lord's people to bear. and how we need the Lord to be
with us in those tribulations. And if you look in the second
epistle of Paul to the Corinthians in chapter 1 and verse 4, who
comforted us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble. We think of Jacob in his time
that declared when Benjamin wanted to be taken into Egypt and he'd
already lost Joseph and he heard that Simeon was bound, he made
this statement, all these things are against me. Tribulation. which are in trouble by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. So here we see that there's
a need to be, you see, as we are comforted, then we can speak
to others. We've been there. We've understood
something of what it means so we can actually be a comfort
to others. For as the sufferings of Christ
abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And
whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation,
which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which
we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it
is for your consolation and salvation." So the Apostle speaks of this
difficulty that he's passing through, and of course in The
second epistle of Paul to the Corinthians in chapter 4 in verse
17 we have, for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. So here
he's saying that our difficulties are like putting money into a
bank and there's like an interest being built up on those things. a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory, there's something of being beneficial by those
things that we're passing through, while we look not at the things
that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. So thinking of these tribulations
that the Lord's people walk through, the persecutions, that the sin that does so easily
beset them as well, of course that's a great sadness and tribulation
to bear at their ungodly heart. But those persecutions from others
and the circumstances that they find themselves in, the dark
providences, being amongst the world and these things. In the world ye shall have tribulation. But the Lord Jesus does not leave
it there. He says, but be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Don't give up. Don't give up. We're to be of good cheer. You
see, why can we be of good cheer if we are in much tribulation?
This is a paradox. Why should we be in tribulation
and be of good cheer? The two don't go together in
our understanding really. But Jesus is saying, be of good
cheer. I've heard it explained like
this in our country, don't we? Around Ashdown Forest, there's
lots of deer running around and quite often they get hit by cars.
And you think of a deer that gets hit hard by a car. Sometimes
that deer will run off into the undergrowth and then die. It's still able to run away from
the car, even after it's been mortally wounded, and yet it
can still run for a certain short time before it goes and dies. Well, you see this is a picture of
Satan. the prince of the power of the
air, the devil, has much power. And yet, you see, he's like that
deer that's been hit by the car. It only has a short period of
time, a few bounds, and then it's finished. And you see, that
is like what has happened to Satan. He has had a mortal wound
when it came to what the Lord Jesus did at Calvary. And now
he is a chained foe. Now he is unable to do what he
could have done, and he has a limited ability. And of course, his time
is short. He realizes that and he's working
very powerfully and he seems still, you see, as that deer
can run away with perhaps seemingly the same strength and the same
way of carrying on as normal, but only for a very short time,
only for those few steps to get that deer away from the road.
And then the reality of the fact that it's internal bleeding,
I guess, and other things like that are causing it that it cannot
live, cannot continue to live. And you see, we need to realise
that this is what the Lord Jesus is saying here. That Satan is
powerful, this world is powerful, but it is mortally wounded. I have overcome the world. The world is still powerful.
That deer is still bounding away from the car. It doesn't seem
to have been affected by it. It seems that it can carry on
in its onward journey. But it can't. Only for a short time. And you
see, this is what the Lord Jesus is saying to his dear disciples. Ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. I've given a mortal wound to
this deer in my illustration. I've given it and it cannot live
long. It's only got a few more moments to live and then it will
be dead and gone and gone forever. And you see, when it comes to
the people of God, We have reason to rejoice. Yes, he's still strong
at this moment. Yes, he's still got that life
to bound away from the car for a few steps. But he's mortally
wounded. And therefore, you see, the people
of God have something to rejoice in. Be of good cheer. He is a
conquered foe. I have overcome the world. And you see this was so much
earlier in the same chapter. He was speaking of that. John 16 verse 20, Verily, verily,
I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, that the world
shall rejoice. You see, The Lord's people, the
disciples at Calvary, they were weeping and lamenting, no doubt.
They were upset. They were concerned. But the
world was rejoicing. The powers of sin were rejoicing. They were jeering at Christ.
They were very happy. They seemed as if they'd gained
the conquest. They had triumphed as they thought
over Christ. But you see, they hadn't really.
Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. And
ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. The joy of realizing that as
the disciples did on the road to Emmaus, we thought it had
been he that should have redeemed Israel. And when Jesus came and
showed them that it was him and what happened at that great transaction
at Calvary was not a win for Satan. It was not the triumphing
of Satan. but it was the triumphin of himself. And you see, it depends on how
you look at it. It depends on where you're looking
as to how you see it, you see. And it speaks then of the prince
of this world is judged. I can't just quite see it, but
certainly in Hebrews chapter 2 we have it. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. So the Lord Jesus,
when he was contending with Satan, when he went through Calvary
and all that that meant, there was an aspect, you see, of Calvary
that was satisfying the divine justice. But there seemed to
be an aspect also, clearly from Scripture, that was of wounding,
of vitally wounding the devil, that he might destroy him that
had the power of death. That is the devil. and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. And in Colossians we also have
a word of that about rejoicing over death. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them. So this is what the Lord Jesus
did. These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. So you see all this trouble
going on. You see the conflict. And it
seems that Satan is all powerful. It seems that he is gaining the
victory. It seems that he is overcoming
you. It seems that he is more powerful than you. But the Lord
Jesus is saying, have peace in your heart. I have, in this case
here, he was just about to mortally wound the devil. But here we
can say he has done that. It's accomplished, it's finished,
he said on the cross. You see, and therefore we have
reason to realize that the fight is fought, the battle won. These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace,
serenity in realizing that the victory is ultimately won. The victory that Satan and all
his hellish hosts have been overcome. and have been vanquished in the
world ye shall have tribulation. Don't think that you've gone
some wrong way if you've got tribulation. Tribulation from
persecutions. Now, it does not mean that all
the time we're persecuted or all the time that these things
are going on. There's varied, you see. There's various times
coming to our pathway. The Lord leads his people on.
But this will be part of the pathway that we will have tribulation
of various forms and kinds. And it's to bring us, you see,
to that expected end. It's to show us that He is on
the throne, that He has triumphed gloriously. I have overcome the
world, overcome this system of worldliness, overcome the lust,
the pomp, the pride of life, overcome Satan. I have gained
the victory. I have made a way back to God. And this is so precious, isn't
it? And how affliction It can be
used, you see, to bring us back to God. We looked at that in
the Sunday school this morning with Manasseh, that wicked king
who reigned for so many years in Judah, and yet it was towards
his end he was taken into captivity. He was chastened by God powerfully
by the king of Babylon. And he then repented and came
to realise his need of forgiveness from God. And he turned from
his evil ways and turned to be a child of the Living God. Well,
Jesus is speaking to his people, to his disciples. He is encouraging
them. They are about to undergo some
tremendous trials. And in our pathway we have difficulties,
we have tribulations, we have sadnesses, we have difficulties. But let us not think, well, I've
got a difficulty so therefore I should stop in this way and
go a different way, where I won't get a difficulty. No, in the
world ye shall have tribulations. We're not to look for them, we're
not to seek to bring them on ourselves unnecessarily, but
we are to walk godly. Yea, all that will live godly
shall suffer persecution. And you see, this is so important
then, that we do not, that we arm ourselves for the fight.
That we are not surprised by tribulations, although we find
them difficult. We find them something that we
would naturally want to avoid. But yet, we can see, you see,
in the purposes of God. He has so many purposes to show
us in these trials, as we read. If we pass through something,
we can speak to others, comfortingly, if we've been through it ourselves.
And the Lord uses affliction sometimes to open our eyes to
understand what Paul says, to have fellowship with his sufferings.
How could you have fellowship with the sufferings of Christ
if you never had any sufferings yourself? You see, the Lord uses
these things. But Jesus is saying, be of good
cheer. I've overcome. I've taken the
sting out of these things. I have made it so that there
will be this time coming when you will come to a place where
there will be no more tears and then you will be with me where
I am. You see Jesus spoke, this was
the end of his speaking to his disciples in this discourse.
He then goes on into chapter 17 and prays for them. He's spoken to them and now he's
going to pray for them. And John 17 is that high priestly
prayer of the Lord Jesus. It's praying on behalf of his
people, not wishing them to be taken out of the world, but that
they may be kept from the evil, that they may be kept in the
midst of this wicked and perverse nation, that they may shine as
lights, that they may truly honour and glorify the one whom they
have come to serve. And you see, surely there's a
comfort here for us. These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. We need to be in Christ.
We need to have union with him. This is the only way. we shall
be able to face Satan. This is the only way we will
overcome. Otherwise Satan is sure to overcome
us. He will overpower us. He is too
mighty a foe for us. He will bound over us and destroy
us. But if we have union with Christ
in me, You have peace. I have overcome the world. He
has gained the victory. He is the captain that's truly
gained the victory. Well then, therefore, all for
whom he stood will gain the victory too. Well, may these things be
an encouragement then, and a consolation to us as we walk through tribulation,
that we may not think that we've gone some wrong way. As we have
these troubles in our families, in our circumstances, And these
troubles also that are peculiar to the people of God, the persecutions,
are peculiar to the Lord's people. And the feeling, the ostracised
by the ungodly world around us. If we didn't have the grace of
God, then these things wouldn't be a problem to us. These things
I have spoken unto you that ye might have peace. In the world
ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. have overcome
the world. There's an overcoming, triumphantness
in that text. May the Lord add his blessing,
amen.