God Cares for Us!
The Gospel of John
John 16:23-28
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church – January 31, 2018
(Revised April 15, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 16:22. Here God's Word continues to focus on the night before the cross. Remember that by this time, Jesus and His disciples have left the Upper Room where Jesus gave us the Lord's Supper.
*In John 14:31 Jesus had 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 adds, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
*Scholars estimate that it is a little over a mile from the Upper Room to the Garden, and by this point, Jesus and His disciples have gotten close. (1)
*All night long the Lord had been preparing His disciples for His cross, His resurrection, His return to Heaven, and what was coming after. In tonight's Scripture Jesus shows us some of the greatest ways God cares for us. Please think about God's care as we read John 16:22-28.
MESSAGE:
*Think about the countless ways God has shown His care for us. I can think of 15 or 20 times when I would have been seriously hurt or killed, if the Lord hadn't been taking care of me.
*Let me tell you about one of those times. I was a senior in high school, lost as a goose and as foolish as can be. Two of my best friends and I had been to Atlanta for some function at Georgia Tech. And we started talking about finding a new place to have the next summer's week-long beach-party for our high school fraternities and sororities.
*On a whim, we decided to drive over to Myrtle Beach South Carolina, and check it out. Of course our parents didn't know. We were 2 or 3 hours out of Atlanta on I-20, when we looked over at the west-bound lane and saw people waving and hollering. We thought maybe it was a caravan having a party or something like that. And for no particular reason, my friend driving switched over to the right-hand lane.
*A few seconds later, we topped a big hill, and passed a man who was driving on the wrong side of the Interstate. If my friend hadn't changed lanes, we would have hit that car at a combined speed of 140 mph! We would have surely been killed. But our merciful God spared our lives.
*When we get to Heaven we will see millions of ways God has been taking care of us. But in tonight's Scripture Jesus shows us four of the greatest ways God cares for you and me.
1. FIRST: HE WILL GIVE US THE ULTIMATE UNDERSTANDING.
*The Lord points us to this truth in the first part of vs. 23. Here Jesus told His disciples, "in that day you will ask Me nothing "
*To help us understand this verse we need to know that tonight's Scripture has two different original words translated into our English word "ask." This word for "ask" was used to ask questions for information or understanding.
*It’s the same word used up in vs. 5 where Jesus said, "But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you ASKS Me, 'Where are You going?'" This word for "ask" is also the same word used in vs. 19, where God's Word says, "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'?"
*The Lord's disciples were troubled by many questions on the night before the cross. For example, listen to Jesus and Peter in John 13:33-38:
33. (Jesus said,) "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.
34. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.''
36. Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?'' Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.''
37. Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.''
38. Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."
*Also remember Jesus and Thomas in John 14:1-6:
1. (Jesus said,) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2. 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.
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4. And where I go you know, and the way you know.''
5. Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?''
6. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
*The Lord's disciples were troubled by many questions on the night before the cross. They couldn't understand why this terrible thing was happening, how they were going to make it through, or what they were supposed to do. But Jesus had the answer for their questions, and He has the answers for us too.
*The Lord wants to give us better understanding in life. That's why He answers our questions. He will always give us the right answers at the right time. That's why in the first part of vs. 23 Jesus was able to say, "In that day you will ask Me nothing." In other words, "You won't have to ask Me anything because you will already understand."
*The Lord answered their questions, and He will answer our questions too.
[1] BUT NOTICE AGAIN THAT HIS ANSWERS COME AT THE PERFECT TIME.
*In vs. 23 Jesus said, "IN THAT DAY you will ask me nothing." God always does the right thing at the right time.
*Right now, we still struggle to understand some things, and we may think that God’s not paying attention. We may even be tempted to think that God doesn't care. But God hasn’t forgotten us! He is always listening to us. And He will answer our questions at the perfect time.
[2] HE WILL ALSO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS WITH THE PLAIN TRUTH.
*We can see this in vs. 25 where Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language (or in proverbs); but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father."
*Sometimes we hold back telling our children things because they aren't yet able to handle the plain truth. Well, God does the same thing with us. Back up in vs. 12, Jesus had just said this to His disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." Then in vs. 13, the Lord went on to say, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
*Now, ever since Pentecost, Jesus Christ has revealed God the Father to us not just in proverbs or parables, but with the plain, open truth.
*And yes, we still will have questions about the mysteries of life. We still have questions about the hard things in life. But God will answer all of our questions at just the right time, in just the right way. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."
*In 1 John 3:1-2, the Apostle John also gave us this joyful news:
1. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
*God will answer all of our questions at the right time, in the right way. He will give us the ultimate understanding. That's how much God cares for us.
2. CHURCH: HE ALSO HEARS OUR CRIES FOR HELP.
*We see this truth in the last part of vs. 23 and in vs. 24. There Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
*When Jesus talked about asking the Father and asking in the Lord's name, He used a different original word translated as "ask." This word "ask" is not about getting information from God. It's about getting help from God. This word for "ask" is a strong word that carries the idea of craving, desiring, even begging for something.
[1] GOD HEARS OUR CRIES FOR HELP, AND HE PROMISES TO ANSWER.
*Again, in the last part of vs. 23, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." This is just one of God’s great promises to answer our prayers, and He will always answer our prayers at the right time in the right way.
*One of my favorite stories of answered prayer is about a lady named Katie Finley. Mary and I got married on Valentine's Day in 1975. We lived in a little apartment in West Monroe, and Miss Katie lived in the apartment below us.
*In October of that same year, I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. We really didn't know Miss Katie at the time, but we later learned that she had been praying for us every day for 6 months. Miss Katie faithfully prayed that God would help us find a church where we could worship Him together. Then by God's grace, we did find a church, and so much more!
*But Miss Katie would not have been living below us, if the Lord hadn't healed her in a miraculous way. Sometime later Katie told me about her healing miracle. She had extremely advanced cancer in her abdomen. It was so bad that the nurses had to be careful turning her for fear that they would just tear her open. But God's people were praying, and the Lord miraculously healed Miss Katie.
*Would I have gotten saved if those people hadn't prayed for Katie? Would I have been saved if Miss Katie hadn't been there to pray for me? I can't answer that. But I can tell you that God did heal her, and she did pray for me, and I did get saved! Praise the Lord!
[2] GOD HEARS OUR CRIES FOR HELP, AND HE PROMISES TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS. HE ALSO PROMISES TO GIVE US ABUNDANT JOY.
*As Jesus said in vs. 24, "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
*Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." That's true, so God wants us to have His joy, and prayer is one of the keys to having His joy. Prayer will help refresh our thirsty souls, and fill us with God's abundant, overflowing joy.
*Steve Brown told about some friends who had a great idea for the children’s Sunday School class they taught. They gave each child a little plant to take home, but there was an important rule: The children could only water the plant each day after they had read their Bibles and had a time of prayer.
*It was a great object lesson, because if the children didn’t read their Bibles and pray, they could see their plants start to wither. Then they realized that the same kind of thing was going on in their hearts. (2)
*God wants all Christians to be full of His joy, so Jesus tells us to pray. And we know that God cares for us, because He hears our cries for help.
3. WE ALSO KNOW HE CARES BECAUSE JESUS MAKES US FRIENDS WITH HIS FATHER.
*When Jesus spoke in vs. 23-25, He focused very strongly His Heavenly Father. Please listen again, where the Lord said:
23. "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
24. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language (or in proverbs); but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father."
*In vs. 26-27 Jesus continued to focus on His Father, and here the Lord said:
26. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;
27. for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
*Again in vs. 26, Jesus said, "In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you."
*Why did Jesus say that? It surely doesn’t mean that Jesus never prays for us. We know that the Lord prays for us because Romans 8:34 says, "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." Then Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus "is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
*The basic idea of this word "intercession" in intervening on someone's behalf. It especially means going to God to help someone else, and that is exactly what Jesus does for Christians. There in the glories of Heaven, as He sits beside God the Father, Jesus is pleading for His Father's help in our lives.
*God the Father and God the Son both have infinite love for us, but in these verses Jesus stepped back to put the full focus on God the Father. And when Jesus did this, He showed us the friendship He gives His followers with His Heavenly Father.
*The Father's friendship is shown to us in vs. 27, where Jesus said, "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God." Usually when the Bible talks about God loving us, it uses the Greek Word "agape." That's the word for God’s kind of grace-filled love. It's John 3:16 love, the highest form of love.
*But here in vs. 27, Jesus gives us the amazing good news that God also loves us as His friends. You see, it’s a different word for love here: It’s "phileo." That's friendship love, brotherly love. That word is where the City of Philadelphia got its name, and that's why it's called "The City of Brotherly Love."
*Through the cross of Jesus Christ, God the Father wants to love you like a friend. And He will, if you believe in Jesus and love Him like a friend.
*What a difference it makes to know that the Heavenly Father wants to be a friendly Father to us all! And this reminds us that prayer is not just about getting answers. Prayer is also about having a strong and growing relationship with God.
*C. L. Null caught a glimpse of the wonder of knowing God when he was teaching Sunday School. They were learning the Lord's Prayer, and one of kids didn't quite get it. That child started the Lord's Prayer this way: "Our Father, who art in heaven, how'd you know my name?" (3)
*It's a wonderful thing to realize that God knows me, and I can know Him! He can be my Heavenly Father, and He can be my Friend. We know that God cares for us, because Jesus makes us friends with His Father.
4. WE ALSO KNOW HE CARES BECAUSE JESUS CAME TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR US.
*The greatest way that the Heavenly Father could ever show His care for us was to send His only begotten Son to die on the cross for us. And the greatest way the Son of God could ever show His care for us was to lay down His life on the cross for our sins.
*Verse 28 points us to the cross, because here Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.'' Why did Jesus come into the world? -- for the cross! And how was He leaving the world? -- by the way of the cross.
*Verse 28 gives a short summary of the loving life of our Lord and Savior. John Phillips wrote that here we see a 4-part summary of the life of Jesus Christ:
-Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father." This speaks of Christ’s Christmas birth.
-Then Jesus said, "I have come into the world." This speaks of the Lord's mission.
-Then Jesus said, "I leave the world." This speaks of Christ’s crucifixion, because Jesus did leave this world by the way of the cross. He left by dying to pay the price for our sins. He left by dying to save everyone who would believe in Him.
-Finally, in vs. 28, Jesus said: "I go to the Father.'' This speaks of Christ's resurrection, and return to His Heavenly Home. (4)
*Jesus did return to His Heavenly Home. And it's our home too, if we believe in Jesus Christ, if we have received Him as our Lord and Savior.
CONCLUSION:
*God surely cares for us all. We could tell many different ways that He has cared for us in life. And when we get to Heaven, I believe we'll see millions more ways that God has taken care of us. But best of all, He came to die on the cross for our sins!
*So whether it's the best day of your life, or the worst day of your life, always remember that God cares for us!
(1) Sources:
-Various online maps
-https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-far-from-upper-room-gethsemane-during-time-375489
(2) Adapted from JUMPING HURDLES, HITTING GLITCHES, OVERCOMING SETBACKS by Steve Brown - NavPress Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado - Copyright 1992 - pp. 104-105
(3) C. L. Null in "Christian Reader" - Source: SermonCentral sermon "Jesus' Approach to Prayer" by Rodney Buchanan - Matthew 6:5-15 - 03/13/2005
(4) EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Wonderful Words of Life" - John 16:16-28
