Keep Trusting In The Lord! Series

Keep Trusting in the Lord!

The Gospel of John

John 16:16-22

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church – January 24, 2018

(Revised April 4, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to John 16. For many weeks now, we have been studying the night before Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That's because God's Word puts a great emphasis on this night, all the way from John 13:1 to John 18:27.

*There are different opinions on when Jesus and the disciples left the upper room to walk to the Garden of Gethsemane, but the best I can understand, they left at the end of chapter 14. In John 14:31 Jesus said, "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here." Matthew 26:30 says, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

*John Phillips explained: "With the solitude of the upper room now over and the agony ahead, Jesus talked as he walked, first to his followers, then to his Father. His talk with his followers gave them revelations about God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Heavenly Father."

*Scholars estimate that it's a little over a mile from the upper room to the Garden, and by this point in John 16, Jesus and His disciples have gotten close. One of the main things on the Lord's mind that night was His Holy Spirit, and how God's Spirit would come in a new way after Jesus went home to Heaven. (1)

*Now in John 16:16, Jesus turned His thoughts back to His death, His resurrection, and His return home to be with His Heavenly Father. This is how the Lord continued to prepare His disciples for the cross. And as He did, Jesus gives us some great reasons why we should always trust in the Lord. Please think about trusting God, as we read John 16:16-22.

MESSAGE:

*Monday morning, I went to Walmart to pick up some medicine and a few grocery items. As I was checking out, the young lady at the register asked, "Did you find everything you needed today." With a smile on my face I replied, "Yes, -- but for some strange reason I couldn't find any disinfectant wipes." She chuckled a little and said, "As soon as they put them out every day, people snatch all of them up."

*The conversation quickly turned serious, as it always does in these days of the Corona virus pandemic. And I said, "I told my wife this morning, 'One thing we know for sure, God's people are praying.'" With great wisdom she replied, "Yes. -- God is using this to draw people to Him."

*I marveled at her wisdom and instantly knew that this young woman was strongly trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. She is living out one of the best known and loved Scriptures: Proverbs 3:5-6. There God's Word says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

*That's the best advice anybody ever gave, and anybody ever got. No matter what happens in life, everybody should trust in the Lord! Tonight's Scripture helps us see why.

1. FIRST: TRUST JESUS BECAUSE HE CARES WHEN WE ARE CONFUSED.

*Jesus Christ cares about our confusion. God's Word confirms this truth for us in vs. 16-19. Here Jesus said this to His disciples:

16. "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.''

17. Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?''

18. They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying.''

19. Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?

*In vs. 19, Jesus knew what was bothering His disciples. They were confused. They were troubled about the Lord's teachings. But Jesus knew all about their questions, even though in vs. 17, they were asking those questions "among themselves."

*Jesus knew all about their confusion, and He knows about ours too. Many times in life we won't understand what's going on. Other times we won't know what to do. But the Lord knows all about our confusion, and we can trust Him to help us even when we don't understand.