John 16 at verse 20. John 16 at verse 20. The title of the message, sorrow
turned into joy. Verily, verily, John 16, 20. I say unto you that you shall
weep and lament. The world, the ungodly, secular
world, the world of the Jews, the world of the Romans, they
rejoiced when the Lord Jesus Christ was despised and rejected
of men. And he says, you shall be sorrowful,
but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. Sorrow turned into
joy. Look at verse 22. And you now,
and you know, therefore, you now therefore have sorrow, but
I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice in your joy."
There it is again, your joy, no man will take from you. Salvation,
no man will take from you. You see, salvation, who is Christ,
He is our joy. And then in verse 24, hitherto
you've asked nothing in my name, ask and you shall receive that
your joy may be full, full joy. Sorrow turned into joy. Now,
everyone, I'd say most if not all people, are vitally interested
in being happy. Would you say that so? Being
happy, happy, happy. Having no sorrow, no grief, no
pain, no anxiety, no trouble, but joy, joy, joy. So much so, and so many people
are thinking about this subject of joy, that someone did a recent
poll, any of you see this? A Gallup well-being poll, a Gallup
poll, conducted to determine which state among the 50 states
had the happiest people. And which state among the 50
states had the saddest people. ranked at the top of the list
of the saddest people, the state that had the saddest people was
our dear friends from West Virginia. You live in a sad place. That's what they said, according
to this poll. You folks from Kentucky now, we rank second. They beat us. The second state
ranked to be having the saddest people, number one, West Virginia,
number two, Kentucky. Our dear friends from Ohio and
Tennessee ranked third and fourth. I mean, we're in bad shape. You know the number one state
that had the happiest people? North Dakota. Who in the world
wants to live in North Dakota? I mean, it never warms up there.
I guess they're so frozen they don't know what true happiness
is. This is what was in the paper,
on the news. How this was determined, and
often times you can ask questions certain ways to get the results
you want in these polls, How this was determined, I have no
idea. But I do know this, true happiness
is not a matter of geography. East, West, North, South. Where
you live doesn't determine your happiness. In this life, everyone
is subject to sorrow. Doesn't matter if you live in
North Dakota or West Virginia. Everyone is subject to sorrow,
grief and pain, anxiety because of one thing. S-I-N. Sin. We're sinners. The Scriptures verify this. Man
that's born of woman is few days and full of trouble. Do you know
anything about trouble? I mean, from the get-go, we've
got trouble. Like what Brother Scott Richardson said, we come
forth in this life and they hold us upside down and spank us on
the rear end, and then when we die, they put us in the ground
and throw dirt in our face. I mean, that pretty well sums
it up, doesn't it? You see, believers are not exempt from sorrow in
this life because of what we are. But we do have joy. We do have true joy. Believers
do have the only true joy and peace in this life because it's
in the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is our joy. Look at the last verse in John
16. These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace, in me you might have joy. In this world you shall have
tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Now
let me show you another place. Turn over here to the book of
Philippians. You see the Lord Jesus Christ
Of His fullness have we all received grace for grace. John 1, 16. Over here in Philippians chapter
4, now look at this. I'm going to make a play on words
here, but it makes the point. Philippians chapter 4, look at
verse 11. Verse 11, Philippians 4. Paul said, Not that I speak
in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I
am in, North Dakota, or West Virginia, whatever state I'm
in, I'm there with content. You see, it doesn't matter. Circumstances
don't dictate what true joy is. Believers are content with Christ. Joy is not a matter of where
you live, or joy is not a matter of circumstances. True joy. Whether the Apostle Paul was
in prison, you remember in Antioch, when they were beaten and put
in prison. No, Philippi. Philippi, they
were beaten and put in prison, and they were singing that night.
How can you sing? because they had joy in their
heart. Whether the apostle was in prison or in the pulpit, whether
he was in Rome about to be executed, have his head removed, or whether
he was in Jerusalem, state and station and circumstances did
not make any difference in his joy, in his peace he had with
God, because it's all wrapped up in Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see, the object of the apostle
joy was Christ. And that's our object. The subject
of his joy and the passion of his joy never change because
it's a person. Truth, saving, faith, find, delight,
joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the true circumcision,
the true Israel of God, which worship God in His Spirit, that
rejoiced in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the
flesh. You see, He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And saving faith fixes its eye
upon Christ. And we rejoice in Him. As a matter
of fact, he says in Philippians 4.4, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. You folks in West Virginia, you
can rejoice. The folks in Kentucky and Tennessee,
our friends in Tennessee, they can rejoice in the Lord. You
see, it's not a matter of geography. It's a matter of being found
in Christ Jesus the Lord. Now, with that introduction,
let's look at verse 16, down through verse 19. The Lord repeatedly
tells the disciples here, a little while and you shall not see me,
and again a little while you shall see me because I go to
my Father. He declares here His death, His
resurrection, and His ascension unto us. Down in verse 19, the
Lord knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them,
Do you inquire among yourselves that I sit a little while, and
ye shall not see me, and again a little while, and ye shall
see me? The Lord knew their heart. Clearly
the Lord Jesus Christ is telling His beloved apostles in His parting
final message unto them, the necessity of His death. Look
again at verse 28, John 16 verse 28. He says, I came forth from
the Father, I am come into the world, again I leave the world,
and I go unto my Father. He keeps repeating this message
over and over and over again. to show them the necessity of
His death. You remember over here in verse
7, John 16 verse 7, He said, "...Nevertheless I tell you the
truth, it's necessary for you that I go away. For if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come, but if I depart, I will
send Him unto you." God, the Holy Spirit, would have
nothing to reveal unto us and to show unto us had the Lord
Jesus Christ not accomplished our salvation. You see, His death
and burial are of a necessity. He says, You shall not see Me. That's what He's saying. A little
while and you shall not see Me. He must be Crucified for our
sin according to the scripture to put away our sin and then
he said you shall See me you see it verse 16. You shall see
me here. He's talking about his resurrection
glory delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification."
And then he says, "...because I go to my Father." He ascended
to the throne of God. When he had by himself purged
our sin, he sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. Although
he had told them this message more than on one occasion, Many
times before, you remember, they walked with the Lord for over
three years. They were slow to learn what
He was saying. They heard the words. But they did not understand,
experience, or comprehend the message. Let me show you another
Scripture here. Hold your place there. Notice
in Mark chapter 8. Turn over there. Mark chapter
8. The Lord repeatedly told them
that He must lay down His life, that He must go to Jerusalem,
that He must be rejected, that He must do these things. Mark 8, 31. Mark 8, 31. And He began to teach them that
the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected of the elders
and of the chief priests, and scribed, and be killed, and after
three days rise again, And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him and began
to rebuke him. In Matthew 16 it said, Be it
far from thee, Lord, this shall not be. But when he had turned
about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, You
get out of my way. You're an ally of Satan. You save us not the things that
be of God, but those that be of men. So he told them plainly,
yet they did not understand. Look back at John 14, John 14
verse 19. Yet a little while, and the world
seeth me no more, but you see me, because I live, you shall
live also. At that day you shall know that
I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you." So he told
them repeatedly that he was going away, but they did not comprehend
the message. How often we have the same exact
problem. We hear the words or we read
the words but we miss the message. Have you ever been talking to
someone and you sit there and you're telling them this and
you're telling them that and then you wait for an answer and they
turn to you and go, huh? They heard the word but they
did not hear anything you said. And I think oftentimes we hear
the gospel preached that way. We really don't believe anything
until we really experience it in our heart and we see the blessedness
of it, the necessity of it unto our own soul. God, help us to
hear Him and hear the gospel as it is the word of truth. Give
us ears to hear. Our Lord said, blessed are your
ears if they hear the gospel. Now look at verse 20. Verily,
verily, I say unto you that you shall weep, you shall weep, you
shall be in great lament and sorrow." Here he's talking about
his being arrested, being abused and mistreated. The world, the
Romans and the Jews, they're going to rejoice to see this
despised Nazarene put to death. And you shall be sorrowful, but
your sorrow shall be turned into everlasting joy. Joy. And notice these two words
here in verse 20. Verily, verily. Verily, verily. You know, it's only in the book
of John that we read the verily, verily. It means truly, truly,
amen, amen, twenty-five times. Twenty-five times. When the Lord
says, verily, verily, we need to pay particular attention.
Not that we don't need to pay attention to the rest of the
Word, but particularly what He says right here, and these other
places, verily, verily. the effect of the Lord Jesus
Christ in him crucified and that's what he's talking about here,
has a two-fold effect on all men everywhere when the gospel
is preached. To some, it's the power of God
and the salvation. To those who are perishing, it's
foolishness. The world here that he's talking
about, the ungodly Romans and the self-righteous Jews, the
world rejoiced to see the Lord Jesus Christ mistreated, to suffer
and to die that bloody death of crucifixion because they thought
they were through with Him, away with Him, done with Him. And
they had for a while some temporary joy, didn't they? I mean, the
Pharisees were thinking, aha, we got him. Hey, we got him. You remember they plotted and
schemed to put him to death and oftentimes tried to execute that
themselves. But their joy is temporary because
judgment's coming. Judgment fell on them. You remember
they said, His blood be on us and our children? Boy, it is.
There's pleasure in sin for a season. In Revelation 1, remember these
words, Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see
him, and they also which pierced him, and all the kindred of the
earth shall wail because of him. You remember from our study in
Revelation chapter 6, when the great day of the wrath of the
Lamb was come, they cried out unto the rocks and to the mountains,
Lord, hide us from the face of Him that's coming to judge us
in that day. So yeah, they had some temporary
relief. But their temporary relief shall
be turned into eternal sorrow." Grief, anguish, anguish. Secondly, the apostles had much
grief and sorrow to see the Lord so abused, beaten, mocked, and
nailed to the tree. And the Lord said, you shall
have sorrow. Now here's that scripture I was
talking about earlier. Turn to Mark 16. Mark 16. Even though they forsook the
Lord when He was arrested, they all forsook Him and fled. But they went out very sorrowful."
Remember, Peter went out weeping. In Mark 16, look at verse 9.
Mark 16, 9. Now, when Jesus was risen early,
the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom He cast seven devils. And she went and told them that
he had, that he went, she went and told them that had been with
him, and as they mourned and wept, and they, when they had
heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed not. And after that he appeared in
another form unto two of them, as they walked and went into
the country, and they went and told it unto the residue, that
is, the eleven, neither believed they them, weeping and lamenting
with unbelief. But he says, your sorrow, your
sorrow will be temporary. Your sorrow shall be turned into
everlasting joy. Back to verse 20. Your sorrow
shall be turned into joy. Now think about this. The very
thing that caused their sorrow was the foundation and reason
of their eternal joy. I mean, they were sorry and sorrowful
because the Lord was so abused, but this death the Lord Jesus
Christ died for His covenant people is the very foundation
of all of our eternal joy and salvation. We glory in the cross,
as Paul said, God forbid I should glory save in the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We're determined to preach the
Lord's Death as all of our atonement for our sin. The death and resurrection
and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is the very foundation
of our eternal salvation, peace, and joy. We're reconciled unto
God through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the sole
reason and cause of our joy. His death. His redemption for
our sin. Christ crucified is the foundation
of all spiritual blessing, isn't it? No other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. Other foundation can
no man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus the
Lord. He's the chief cornerstone, elect
and precious, and to you who believe, He is precious." You
see, He's the cause. His death, His atonement, the
shedding of His blood and putting away our sin is the foundation,
reason and means of our joy, our salvation. He obtained eternal
redemption for us with His own blood. Now he illustrates this
in verse 21. A woman When she's in travail and birth
pains, she has sorrow. You ladies know about that. Because
her hour has come. But as soon as the child is delivered,
she remembers no more about any pain. Because joy that a man
is born into this life. There is life through His death. There is life through His death.
Turn back to John chapter 12. He gives another homely illustration
here in John chapter 12, verse 23. The hour has come that the
Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a corn of wheat, a kernel of wheat, fall into the ground,
and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth
much fruit, much fruit through his death. Through his death,
the Lord Jesus Christ, dying for our sin according to the
Scripture, through his death, a whole nation of people, his
elect, have been brought from death unto life. Salvation has
been through His death. Salvation we have because we're
born of God by His will, by His Word, by the way of the cross.
Of His own will be He with the Word of truth. Listen to this
scripture in Isaiah 55. Behold, thou shalt call a nation
that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run
unto thee because of the Holy Lord thy God, for the Holy One
of Israel, for He hath glorified thee. We have the new birth. Salvation and we're born of God
begotten of God because of his death Because of him dying in
our room in our stead as the substitute to put away our sin
Now because of that we have joy we have joy in him look at verse
22 now John 16 22 and Now therefore you have sorrow
But I'm gonna see you again And your heart, your heart shall
rejoice. And your joy, the joy of salvation,
the joy of reconciliation, no man will take from you. And no
believer is without sorrow and triumph. Our Lord was called
a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, right? The Lord had
one Son without sin, but none without sorrow. But the promise
of our Lord Jesus Christ to us never changes. He is faithful
to that promise. He said, I will see you again. Again, I will see you again.
You remember we had this turned back to John 14. I will see you
again. John 14 verse 1, let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in Me. In My Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself. I will come
again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may
be also. I will see you again." And we
will. We shall see Him one day face
to face. But think about this, the Lord
has always had his omniscient eye upon us from all eternity. I will see you again, but he
has always had his eye upon us. He says, I've loved you with
an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness I've drawn
you unto myself. We have always been under his
watchful eye of his mercy, of his love, and of his grace, as
our surety, as our mediator. We will see him again. But he's
always had his eye on us. I will see you again. Then he
says, your heart shall rejoice. Your heart shall rejoice. Can
you look at him and not rejoice? Looking unto Jesus, who is the
author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising his shame, and has
sat down on the right hand of the throne of God, that's Hebrews
12, 2. We do see him with eyes of faith, as the Lord Jesus Christ
is revealed in the Word, and we do find comfort, peace, and
joy in him. He is precious. And in what He
has done for us and is doing in us, Peter put it this way,
we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He says, furthermore,
in that 22nd verse, this joy, this salvation, your heart shall
rejoice, and your joy, your salvation, your peace, no one will take
from you. No man. No man takes this from
you. Now the joy of a hypocrite is
but for a moment. But the joy of a believer is
forever. Forever. I mean, we're just getting started.
Because salvation is of the Lord and of His sovereign gift unto
us, no man can take away what the Lord has given unto us. Can
he? Can any man take away our salvation?
The Lord has given salvation unto us. Remember what the Lord
said to the woman at the well? If you knew the gift of God and
who it is, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that saith
unto you, you would ask of him and he would give you the living
water. But you'd never thirst. Because this salvation is of
the Lord, He saves us with an everlasting salvation. You see,
faith is a gift of God. God doesn't give His gift and
then retrieve it. He gives and gives and gives
and gives and there's no end to His giving. Faith is a gift
of God. No man takes faith from us. Repentance
is a gift of God. He's exalted to give and grant
repentance unto His people. No man can take a repentant heart
away from us. And faith is not an isolated
experience, it's a state of being. We are believing, we are repenting,
we are looking. And salvation that He gives is
the gift of God, and no man takes that from us. You remember John
10? My sheep hear my voice, I know
them, I love them, I give unto them eternal life, and no one
can pluck them out of my hand. No man can pluck them out of
my hand. My Father which gave to me is
greater than all, no man can pluck them out of his hand. I
am my Father of one. We say with the Apostle Paul,
you see, salvation is a gift of God. No man takes that gift
from you. It's yours. God's given it to you. He purposed
it for moral eternity. He gives it as a free gift. No
one can take that from you. No demon in hell. No army of
demons. The devil himself cannot take
this salvation we have. away from us, this hope of glory,
this joy we have in Christ. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above and salvation is a perfect gift. It's from
above. Coming down from the Father of
life with whom is no variable, neither shadow of turning. He
said, The gifts and callings of God are without change. I'm the Lord, I change not. You
see, He gives this joy, this salvation, and no man can take
that from you. Can't be lost. It's His gift.
Faith, repentance, salvation. It's His gift. Verse 23. John 16, verse 23. And in that
day, In that day, that day of joy
and peace in your heart, the Lord is saying in that day when
you see me, the glorified resurrected Christ, when you see me, in that
day you'll ask nothing. Their hearts so, they won't be
asking any more questions in that day. Their heart will be
so overwhelmed with joy and rejoicing and with peace in their heart.
Complete satisfaction. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that he'll
give it to you. Ask, ask, and you shall receive."
In that day, the disciples here, prior to that day of the Lord's
visible resurrection glory before them, they had fear and doubt.
But the Lord assures them in that day of salvation, seeing
His resurrected glory, in that day when the Holy Spirit brings
all things to the remembrance, in that day of saving mercy revealed
to them, no longer asking questions, but rather finding great comfort
in His righteousness given, in His salvation, in His cleansing
blood that cleansed us from all our sin. verse 24 in closing. Hitherto you've asked nothing
in my name, that is upon the merit of my righteousness, upon
the merit of my shedding of my blood, they did pray unto the
Father, Ask now. Ask upon the name of Christ who
put away our sin. Ask upon the name of Christ who
brought in everlasting salvation. You ask in my name upon my merit. Ask what you will. Ask and you
shall receive that your joy, your joy may be full. Ask. Now we've seen this several
times here. If you look back at John 15, verse 11. John 15, 11. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, that your joy might be
full. Ask what you will, that your
joy may be full. And you shall receive, that your
joy may be full. We're gonna see it again, turn
over to John 17, verse 13. And now I come to thee, and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves, that your joy may be full. Ask, and you shall
receive, that your joy may be full. Now turn back to Matthew
7. Over there in the book of James, the Apostle said, you
have not because you ask not. I'm going to ask. Our Father
is generous. He's generous. I'm gonna ask. Look at Matthew 7, 7. Matthew
7, verse 7. Ask and it shall be given you.
Seek and you shall find. Knock, keep knocking, keep seeking,
keep asking, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone
that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth. And to
him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there
of you whom if the son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or
if the son would ask for a fish, will he give him a snake, a serpent?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven,
give good things to them that ask him? Ask, that your joy may
be full. Now ask in my name, in my name,
and your joy shall be full. James again put it this way,
if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth generously
in a liberal way and will not upbraid and it shall be given. That your joy, that your rejoicing
may be full, full rejoicing. Now this word joy here that's
used in verse 24 is the same word that's translated other
places, rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice. Now turn back a couple of pages
to John chapter 8. You remember what Abraham thought
of this verse? John 8, 56. Rejoice. Rejoice. Abraham was strong in faith,
giving God the glory. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. He saw it and was glad. What
was Abraham's joy? Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's right. He was strong in
faith, being fully persuaded all that God had promised he
was able to perform. Rejoiced in the Lord, always
Philippians 4.4. Again I say, rejoice that your
joy may be full. Is it possible in this life right
now for a believer to have The fullness, this full gladness
and rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Absolutely. Absolutely. I have complete confidence in
Him. I have complete confidence in
Him. Therefore, I have the fullness
of assurance, the fullness of joy, absolute confidence in Him,
the full assurance of faith, having a high priest. Let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance. You see, we have
the fullness of salvation in Christ Jesus. In Him dwells all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we stand complete.
Remember, I've told you before, the only reason for grace. What
is the only reason for grace? Well, I'm a good little boy.
No, that's merit. The only reason for grace is
grace. Of His fullness, have we all received grace for grace? In Him glows all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Him we're complete. That's the
fullness of joy. Looking unto Christ, the author
and finisher of our faith. We have the fullness of redemption
in Him. I mean, I'm fully redeemed. I
can't be any more redeemed. I'm already in glory. You sure about that? Absolutely. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were
dead in trespasses and in sin, hath quickened us together with
Christ, raised us up together, and seated us together in the
heavenlies in Christ Jesus right now. I'm seated in Christ in
glory right now. I have the fullness of joy, the
fullness of salvation, the fullness of redemption. I can't be any
more redeemed than I am right now. My sin is fully put away.
We have the fullness of righteousness right now. How good do I have
to be to stand before God accepted? As perfect as the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's me. Every believer is
perfect in Christ. So much so that he says this,
he's able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before
the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy. To whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. And matter of fact, he
presents us holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight without
blame. Faultless. Oh, we have the fullness,
don't we? The fullness of joy, that your
joy may be full, yes! Joy, gladness and rejoicing in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Our salvation in Him is full
and complete. He has made unto me all that
I need, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Now, we read in Isaiah 35 verse
10 a moment ago, And this is what led me to read that verse.
The ransomed of the Lord shall return. The ransomed are bought
with a price. And they shall come to Zion.
They shall come to Christ. Our Lord said, All that the Father
giveth to Me, they shall come to Me. And those that come to
Me, I will in no wise cast them out. And they'll come with songs
and everlasting joy upon their head. And they shall obtain Joy
and gladness, doesn't say they shall attain, they shall obtain
as the gift of his grace. Joy and gladness, sorrow and
sighing shall flee away. Sorrow turned in to joy.