‘VICTORY OVER THE WORLD’
John 16:1-11, 33
It now almost midnight in Jerusalem, a time when most were in bed, but not Jesus and disciples. They were still making their way to the the garden of Olivet where Jesus would be betrayed by Judas and then be put on trail and crucified.
Jesus knowing His time is short is giving many instructions to his disciples to help them when He is no longer with them.
At the end of Chapter 15 in verse 18, He is talking to them about the “world” and we come to chapter 16, He is still talking about the world. In this chapter alone, the world is mentioned 10 times.
Now in this chapter He talks about the “Saved” relationship to the world (v-2), the “Spirit” relationship to the wold (v-8), and the “Saviour” relationship to the world (v-33).
When Jesus talks about the world, He is not talking about the world of nature, but the world’s attitude, the world system against God.
I-NOTICE THE TROUBLE OF THE SAINT THAT IS SHOWN: V-1-4
Jesus foresaw this trouble coming and gave them warning of it beforehand.
When Tyndale was persecuted and his enemies were out for his life because of his printing of the Bible, he said, “I never expected anything else.” Jesus offers men glory, but He also gives them a cross as well.
A-CONSIDER THE SUFFERING THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS TROUBLE: V-2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Jesus said that they would be cast out their synagogues thus being excluded from their place of worship.Though the Jewish people had the most humane laws, yet they were a most vindictive and cruel people.
One of the worst cases of hatred I have ever come across is found in a will written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, “Unto my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, … I leave the sum of $1 to each and a father’s curse. May their lives be fraught with misery, unhappiness, and poignant sorrow. May their deaths be soon and of a lingering malignant and torturous nature.” The last line of the will is so vicious I shudder to quote it. It reads, “May their souls rest in hell and suffer the torments of the condemned for eternity.”
But worst than this is hatred toward Christians. Jesus even said that some of them would be killed for His namesake.
Mehdi Dibaj was imprisoned by the government of Iran in 1984 on charges of "apostasy," since he had converted from Islam to Christianity. The penalty for this crime according to Islamic law was death. Mehdi languished in prison for ten years before his case came to trial. When it did, his written statement of defense was a simple and straightforward affirmation of commitment to Jesus Christ. The last few lines of that defense contain this remarkable paragraph:
[Jesus Christ] is our Savior and he is the Son of God. To know him means to know eternal life. I, a useless sinner, have believed in him and all his words and miracles recorded in the gospel. I have committed my life into his hands. Life for me is an opportunity to serve him, and death is a better opportunity to be with Christ. Therefore I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honor of his holy name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus my Lord...
On December 12, 1993, the court before whom this defense was made sentenced Mehdi to death. Then, under intense pressure from people in the West who knew of the case, including the U.S. State Department, the Iranians released him in January 1994. Seven months later, he was found dead "under suspicious circumstances" in a Teheran park. He was the third Christian murdered in Iran after his release from prison.
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. " The apostle Paul, before his conversion, was a partial fulfillment of that verse. In Acts 26:9-11 he says, " I verily thought within myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. " Paul chased and killed Christians, thinking he was doing service to God.
John Wesley was riding on his horse when it dawned on him he had not been persecuted for three days. "Maybe I’ve sinned or been disobedient." He got off his horse, got on knees. A man on other side of road recognized the evangelist and heaved a rock at him. It bounced off the road, just missing Wesley. He leaped to his feet and shouted, "Thanks be to God! Everything’s all right. I still have God’s presence with me."
B-CONSIDER THE SOURCE THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS TROUBLE: V-3
And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Jesus says the reason they hate the saved is that they know the Father or the Son. This ignorance of God and Christ lies at the root of all spirit of persecution.
Some of the worst persecutions have been done in the name of God, even though God remains unknown to the persecutors
C-NOTICE THE SAVIOUR THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS TROUBLE: V-1, 33A
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus said in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee or forsake thee.
Feeling or Fact? God’s presence is a fact not a feeling. In times of loss and deep grief, our Lord
may seem "far away"...but today we can trust in His presence.
The very One who, in love, took your nature and was crucified, buried, and rose again. I am with you.
Every day of your life see yourself as living in partnership and companionship with Jesus Christ. If He actually walked by your side, would you be worried or afraid? Well, then, say to yourself, "He is with me." Jesus Himself declared, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20.
The best two words in Psalm 23 are two little words in verse 4: "You are with me." The shepherd is no longer up ahead leading the flock. The valley is too dark for that. Now he is walking with us, step by step, walking side by side reassuring his sheep by his calm presence.
II-NOTICE THE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT THAT IS SHOWN: V-7A, 8
Sin is the truth about man; righteousness is the truth about God; judgment is the inevitable product of these two truths
A-THE SPIRIT CONVICTS MEN OF THE SINFULLNESS OF SIN: V-8-9
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The "sin" here is in disbelieving and rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. In naming sin, the chief of all sins is singled out. All sin springs from unbelief.
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It was unbelief that rejected Christ and nailed him to the cross; unbelief that rejects him still; unbelief that fills the land with vice.
I read a story by Dr. James McCullen about an indecent that took place in the early years of this country. "It was recorded by the Rev. Reuben Emerson of Wakefield, Mass. An organized band of infidels was broken up through prayer. No other means was used. The infidel club held regular meetings and attracted many young men of the city. The situation was alarming. It was felt that argument or force would be futile, so they resolved to pray down victory. They claimed the promises and prayed on. One day the infidel leader was brought under powerful conviction. He sought out a Christian and was saved. Then one after another came under the same conviction. Nearly every member was converted. The whole community acknowledged that it was the work of the divine Spirit."
We need to pray, work and trust, yielding to the Spirit. He can and will convict of sin, and point people to Jesus the only saviour.
The doubleheader train was bucking a heavy snowstorm as its steam engines pulled it west.
A woman with a baby wanted to leave the train at one of the little stations along the route.
She repeatedly called, “Don’t forget me!” to the brakeman responsible to call out the stations they approached. Her husband was to meet her.
The train slowed to a stop, and a fellow traveler said, “Here’s your station.” She hopped from the train into the storm. The train moved on again.
Forty-five minutes later, the brakeman came in. “Where’s the woman?”
“She got off at the last stop,” the traveler said.
“Then she got off to her death,” the brakeman responded. “We stopped only because there was something the matter with the engine.”
They called for volunteers to go back and search for the woman and child. When they found her hours later, not far from the track where they stopped, she was covered with ice and snow. The little boy was protected on her breast. She had followed the man’s directions, but they were wrong—dead wrong.
Paul declares Christ is the one Mediator between man and God. Peter emphasizes there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.
B-THE SPIRIT CONVICTS MEN OF THE SINLESSNESS OF THE SAVIOUR: V-8B,10
8B and of righteousness, 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
The "righteousness" here spoken of is the personal righteousness of Christ
Pastor Daniel A Poling told this story American novelist and dramatist Channing Pollock, a relative of his. Mr. Pollock and another author were working on a play late one night in Mr. Pollock’s New York apartment. Somehow their conversation led the author to ask Mr. Pollock, "Have you ever read the New Testament?" Pollock admitted that he had never read it, and after that brief exchange, nothing more was said about it. After the friend left in the early hours of the morning, Pollock went to sleep. However, he couldn’t sleep because he kept thinking about the comment his friend made about reading the New Testament. Finally he got out of bed and searched his books for a New Testament. He found one, and read straight through the gospel of Mark. After doing that, he walked the streets of Manhattan until dawn. He later told Daniel Poling that when he returned to his apartment exhausted, he found himself on his knees passionately in love with Jesus Christ
C-THE SPIRIT CONVICTS MEN OF THE SURETY OF THE JUDGEMENT: V-8C, 11
8C and of judgment: 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Imagine a citizen being brought to trial for several charges of shoplifting. It would be useless for that person to appeal to the judge by saying: “Don’t forget, my good deeds outweigh my bad.” “I’m not as bad as many others.” “Most of the time I’m a law-abiding citizen.” The offender must be judged according to the offense, not according to previous good deeds. If justice is to be done, someone must pay, and that someone should be the offender—unless another is allowed to bear the penalty instead. That’s exactly what Christ in love did for sinners, which we all are, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
A story is told in which an accountant answered an advertisement for a top job with a large firm. At the end of the interview, the chairman asked, “One last question—what is three times seven?”
The accountant thought for a moment and replied, “Twenty-two.”
Outside he checked himself on his calculator and concluded he had lost the job. But two weeks later he was offered the post. He asked the chairman why he had been appointed when he had given the wrong answer.
“You were the closest,” the chairman replied.
Some people have the mistaken idea that God is like the man who conducted the interview. They think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re close to the truth.
III-NOTICE THE TRIMPMPH OF THE SAVIOUR THAT IS SHOWN: V-33
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
What fantastic hope that gives us! In John 15 the Lord warned the disciples that the world would persecute them. In John 16:2 He said, "The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." The world is hopeless; war, pollution, and disaster surround us. Is there any escape from the plagues of man? Yes. Jesus said, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Though the world may afflict them it will only be for a season, for the world in a conquered foe. Christ has overcome it.
Vernon Grounds writes, “A friend told me of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basketball in a nearby public school.
Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, ‘The book of Revelation.’ Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. ‘Oh, yes,’ the man assured him. ‘I understand it!’ ‘What does it mean?’ Quietly the janitor answered, ‘It means that Jesus is gonna win.’”
23A 23 And in that day. Jesus is talking about the present age and the age to come.
A-IN THAT DAY OUR PITY WILL TURN TO JOY: V-20
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
The glad news came, "The Lord is risen." Then they heard that "all power was his," then they saw him ascend into heaven, then they "returned to Jerusalem in great joy." Their sorrow was turned into joy.
Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:
Not in Unbelief, Not in Pleasure, Not in Money, Not in Position and Fame, Not in Military Glory
Where then is real joy found? — The answer is simple, in Christ alone.
The story of Jesus’ life is the story of Joy. There is joy in the presence of Jesus. There is a certain flag that is only flown over Buckingham Palace in England when the reigning monarch is in residence. JOY IS THE FLAG FLOWN FROM THE LIFE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHEN OUR KING JESUS IS IN RESIDENCE.
There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: "Where do you come from?" "I come from heaven!" replied the swan. "And where is heaven?" asked the crane. "Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane. Finally the crane asked: "Are there any snails there?" "Snails!" repeated the swan; "No! Of course there are not." "Then," said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, "You can have your heaven. I want snails!"
The Joy of Jesus is a now and an eternal result later. You can have heaven, or you can settle for the "snails" of this world. Choose.
B-IN THT DAY OUR PAIN WILL BE FORGOTTEN: V-21
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Jesus uses the metaphor of childbearing to teach this truth. He says, "When a woman is in travail (in labor) she has sorrow, because her hour has come." All you women know what Jesus is talking about here. The process of bearing a child is a painful one. "But when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world."
Dr. Art Ferry says “I’ve managed to see many mothers of new-born babies in the hospital soon after their babies were born. And when I have gone in and asked how they are doing, not once has a mother ever replied, "Oh man, this is a bummer! You know how painful it is to have a kid!" No, as Jesus says, she no longer remembers the anguish.”
That is immediately forgotten and in fact even becomes a mysterious ingredient of the joy she feels that a child, a person, has been brought into the world. (Jesus uses this metaphor to describe heaven, and how our suffering in this life will be transformed into joy when we see him again.
C-IN THAT DAY OUR PERCEPTION WILL BE FULL: V-23B
23B And in that day ye shall ask me nothing.
In that day of the future age, God will remove the bandages from or eyes and we will see and understand all. Understand all the suffering we had to go through, understand why God took that loved one, and understand why we had to go through sickness. In that day, we will know as He is known.
I read the story about a little boy who had been blind from birth. He had operation on his eyes, which allowed him to see for the first time. When the Doctor removed the bandages and he looked out the window and saw the beauty of the world for the first time, he cried out, Mother, why didn’t you tell it was so beautiful? His mother replied, son, that what I have been trying to tell you, how beautiful it is.
It might be we will do the same thing when we see heaven for the first time. But Christ will say, I tried to tell you in my Word about the beauty of this heavenly place.
Conclusion-In a storm one dark night some sailors were thrown by the sea upon a rock, to which they clung for their lives. Their first feeling was one of joyful gratitude. They were on a rock. Their second emotion was a sickening fear, for the tide might rise, and the storm and waves sweep over the rock and carry them away to death in the raging sea. Just then a flash of lightening overtook the darkness, and by its lurid glare they saw that the rock was covered with samphire, a plant which always grows above the level of the tide. Then were they greatly glad, for they were assuredly safe. So is it in our wildest storms, if we cast upon the rock Christ Jesus. If God loves us we shall live, for the love involves the life--life here, life everlasting.
