INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Have you had moments of joy only to be followed by moments of discouragement?
• We have talked about how on this final evening with Jesus before the crucifixion how the mood of the night went for joy to confusion, to discouragement.
• As Jesus is reading the hearts of these men during this final evening together, He knows what they are thinking, and what they fear.
• Seeing this, Jesus tells disciples He is going to change the way He speaks to them concerning the Kingdom of God.
• Gone are the parables, now it is time to lay it on the line with these men.
• Time is short and there is a lot to share with these men in these final hours.
• SLIDE #2
• John 16:25 (ESV) “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
• Jesus goes on in verse 27 to remind these men of something very important.
• SLIDE #3
• John 16:27 (ESV) for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
• In the midst of their discouragement, Jesus reminds these men that God loves them.
• When you are facing the struggles of life, it is imperative that you understand that God loves you.
• We can be encouraged by knowing that God loves us even when we do not feel like He should. Jesus does not want these disciples or you to live in discouragement; He wants us to be encouraged and strong!
• As the time nears for Jesus to go to the cross, Jesus offers these disciples something. As we look at what He offers them, I pray that we can draw a deeper of level of encouragement from the words of Jesus!
• Let us turn to John 16:33 to see what Jesus offers to us!
• SLIDE #4
• John 16:33 (ESV) I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
• First we see that…
• SLIDE #5
SERMON
Jesus offers…
I. A great blessing.
• Jesus starts verse 33 by saying, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.
• Peace is something that Jesus wants you to have no matter what the situation. Jesus knows what He is about to face and how it will impact His disciples.
• Jesus is offering inner peace from the coming pain they were about to face.
• This is something that we have to understand if we are going to grow in Christ, we have to know that in Christ we can experience peace.
• SLIDE #6
• Philippians 4:7 (ESV) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
• The reason this peace surpasses all understanding is because you cannot understand it.
• The circumstances that we face would tell us that we should be in turmoil and that we should be panicking.
• We should be running in circles screaming until we drop from heart failure!
• When you experience the peace of Christ, you do not feel compelled to react in that manner.
• The peace that Jesus wants them to have can ONLY be found in Him. Jesus says that IN ME you will have peace.
• Peace comes to us objectively through the redemption Christ made in his suffering and death.
• SLIDE #7
• Romans 5:1 (ESV) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can have peace with God.
• From a subjective standpoint we can enjoy peace through the comfort and assurance we experience in being in Christ.
• Let me ask you something, would you not like to enjoy peace in this life? Would you like to be able to get rid of the knots in your stomach? In Christ you can have peace. Even when it does not look like you should.
• Later in the verse Jesus tells the disciples to TAKE HEART.
• These men are going to have their world turned upside down very soon and Jesus wants them to be strong. To TAKE HEART means to be strong, to not lose courage.
• The only way you can TAKE HEART is if you trust Jesus. The only way you can experience peace is to trust Jesus and to be in HIM!
• Next let us see one of the reasons we need the peace found in Christ.
• SLIDE #8
Jesus offers…
II. A real warning.
• Jesus offers a word of warning to the disciples when He says, “In the world you will have tribulation.”
• Many times we wonder why we do not experience peace; it can be caused by casting your lot with the world. Jesus reminds the disciples that when they are facing difficulty, the answer is not to abandon Christ and join the world. The WORLD is the cause of the problems.
• Tribulation is a word that means: oppression, suffering, difficult circumstances.
• This tribulation happens because the world is opposed to God. God is not the source of our issues; it is living in the world.
• How many people do you know that once professed faith in Jesus, then when troubles came, they walked away from that profession? Jesus did not want the disciples to think that their faith was the source of the trials they would face, He wanted them to know that the WORLD was the source!
• When you are facing trials in your life that is one of the times your faith should be your anchor. Turning from God is not the answer.
• The issues in life that we face can benefit us, they can make us stronger.
• SLIDE #9
• 2 Peter 1:5–8 (ESV) 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• When you run with the world, it will eventually catch up with you. The world will leave you empty, hurt, and unsatisfied.
• As long as we are in this world, there will be troubles. But we can gain something positive from the troubles.
• SLIDE #10
• 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (ESV) For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
• This part of the verse does not sound attractive, but let’s look at our final thought form our passage!
• SLIDE #11
Jesus offers…
III. An ultimate victory!
• When you are 5 runs down in the 8th inning of a baseball game, have you lost? Is the game over! NO! Ask the Texas Rangers about that one from last year’s AWESOME World Series!
• You play 9 innings!
• Jesus says in verse 33, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
• In a few hours it will look like Jesus has lost, it will look like Satan and the world won.
• Jesus was going to the cross, the disciples were hiding in fear, and they were disillusioned and confused. HOW could this happen!
• Jesus tells them something awesome! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!
• Notice Jesus says this BEFORE HE went to the cross; He is saying I NOW POSSESS VICTORY!
• Jesus says TAKE HEART!
• These again are plain words. The disciples must not back down and run away when persecution comes. This is because they have nothing to ultimately fear from the world. The sinful, unbelieving world cannot defeat God’s Son. He is the light the darkened world could not overcome (1:5).
• The word OVERCOME is a neat word.
• How many of you know what this symbol represents?
• SLIDE #12
• NIKE LOGO.
• Why is this on the screen? Well I got a million dollar shoe contract. NOT!
• The Greek verb translated overcome is νικάω (nikaō).
• It is related to the name of Nike, the Greek winged goddess of victory. It means to “win a victory” or to “conquer.” “Overcome” conveys this idea, but on a smaller scale than the Greek verb suggests. Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John. The College Press NIV commentary (Jn 16:33). Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub. Co.
• This was a word used of triumphant generals and emperors and other world conquerors. This word would be used of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.
• Now this word is being used of Jesus in reference to defeating Satan.
• Jesus defeated Satan and his tool DEATH!
• SLIDE #13
• 1 Corinthians 15:55–57 (ESV) “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• JESUS CONQUERED the WORLD, HE DEFEATED death!
• WE can take heart because through Jesus we have VICTORY!
• SLIDE #14
• 1 John 4:4 (ESV) Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
• Family, it is TIME that we QUITE LIVING LIKE WIMPS, IT IS TIME WE QUIT LIVING LIKE WE ARE DEFEATED.
• IT IS TIME THAT WE START LIVING LIKE THE CHAMPIONS WE ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!
• PRAISE HIS NAME!
• Too many of us are letting life defeat us, it is time to STOP. Too many of us are letting the world use us as a punching bag. IT IS TIME TO STOP.
• We are letting the world get the best of us, it is time to STOP!
• IT is time to LIVE and ACT like WINNERS because in Christ that is just what we are!
• Take heart brothers and sisters, the victory is ours in Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR!
CONCLUSION
• If you are not encouraged by that thought, I do not know what to do!
• In Christ we can experience a DEEPER ENCOURAGEMENT.
• Jesus reminds us that God loves us, that God hears us and that Jesus has won the victory!
• Do you want to experience the love of God, the peace and victory He offers? These things are found in Christ alone!
