Joy In The Morning

Joy in the Morning

John 16:16-22

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Charles Spurgeon

Living in a world where dreams are constantly being dashed amidst the waves of uncertainty, instability and a myriad of trials and tribulations, one can’t help but wonder how as fragile jars of clay we could ever stand firm and constantly feel unspeakable joy. When the pain and anguish of our dire circumstances threatens to crush our minds and souls, is our only defense to become like a stoic and callously build walls around our hearts thus making our emotions a rarity? If one were to live this way then all our trials would be unsanctified and our love, joy and peace would never be felt or experienced! Praise be that in His sovereignty He who knit us in our mother’s womb has the power to transform the deepest pits of our sorrow into a well spring of joy that is everlasting! If we would ask God to grant us ears to hear, eyes to see and the desire to think with the mind of Christ then we would be able to find tubers of blessings and joy surrounding our deep roots of sorrow! The following sermon is going to review some of Jesus’ final words to His disciples before His crucifixion in hope that in His presence and with our eyes fixed on eternity our deep sorrows might be turned into an everlasting joy that even in the midst of our most painful of tribulations will not be squelched but strengthened for He alone is our portion, our Rock and our Salvation!

Summary of Passage

Imagine what it would have been like to have been one the disciples and hear Jesus say “in a little while you will see me no more, and then after a while you will see me” (verse 16)! Given the gift of hindsight these words are not disturbing to us but to the disciples they were confusing and downright frightful! With Jesus’ past crucifixion predictions ringing within their souls their sorrow was so profound that those who “stood on the other side of the cross” could only debate but not ask Jesus for the meaning of His words (17-8). If the time had come for prophecy to be fulfilled, then the One they loved and followed for the last three years would not only be put to death but they would be left alone to face the hatred of a rejoicing world! Jesus reassured them that like a woman giving birth to a child they would feel pain for a short while but upon His return their grief would be turned into great joy that would last forever (20-22)! It was not until Jesus’ crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension and Pentecost that the disciples came to realize how His atonement would turn their grief into an unspeakable joy that not even the greatest persecution and tribulations of their lives could ever lessen!

Sources of Sorrow

While this passage was originally meant to comfort the disciples, it was also meant to comfort us who face many sorrows. While the disciples had to face the jeers of the Scribes and Pharisees who told the world that they were but “poor, foolish fanatics” whose Leader was a nothing more than a mere man cursed upon a tree (Galatians 3:13), we too must face the skeptics, atheists and pretenders of many faiths that perceive us as being nothing more than mere bigots, disillusioned with a single path and absolute truth in but one God. Ever since the time of Christ Satan and his demons have fought (Ephesians 6:12) hard to water-down, chip away and radically pervert God’s word with mere words and lies of foolish men (1 Corinthians 3:19; John 8:44). While one is unlikely that one will face persecution as radical as being torn apart by a lion in a Roman coliseum, do not underestimate he who seeks to devour your mind, life and testimony for Jesus (1 Peter 5:8) in order to keep His words from being on your lips and entering into the heart of another! Like the disciples our enemies rejoice in ignorance of their “worldly success” and belittle those who in their suffering and pain choose to serve but one God (1 Corinthians 8:6) and store treasures in a heaven (Matthew 6:19-21) that in their minds either doesn’t exist or is but one amongst many! Yes, we too know what it is like to suffer for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10)!

Like the disciples we too know what it is like to suffer injustice in the face of the prospering wicked. If the jeering of the skeptics, atheists and pretenders of many faiths was not debilitating enough how does one feel unspeakable joy when we plan, work and save and in a moment of tribulations it evaporates into thin air while in their ungodly ways the wicked prosper, laugh and mock us by asking “where is your God? Is this the result of serving Him?” Living in fallen world where rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous (Matthew 5:45), one can’t help but feel bitter and question God’s justice when His enemies live at ease while His saints suffer. Possibly writing the very words of King David, his chief musician Asaph wrote in Psalms 73 how in his envy of the arrogant, wicked and prosperous people of this world his “feet almost slipped” (verse 2). He foolishly thought if God would reward the evil imaginations of the callous, violent hearts of the wicked then surely his service with a pure heart to God was done in vanity (verse 13)! Thankfully, upon entering the sanctuary of God, he learned that the foundation of the wicked are “like a thin layer of ice” that upon death gives way to Gods’ wrath and justice (verse 17). Even though we as Christians know that God’s eternal justice is absolute perfection, we often “chew our pills of anguish” and run to drink the bitter waters of tribulations! The anticipation and our comparisons with the prosperity of the wicked exasperates our souls so much that we often feel “a thousand sorrows” for each and every tribulation!