Sermon by Pastor Robert Earl Houston, Sr., Assistant Pastor
Westwood Baptist Church, University Center
Nashville, Tennessee - www.westwoodbcuc.org
www.roberthouston.org
Text: John 16:33
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.
(KJV)
Subject: "The Worst and the Best is Yet to Come"
It would be easy to be pessimistic about life. The economy is
down. Social services are being cut. Major corporations are
falling apart at the seams. Technology is obsoleting many goods
overnight. We are in the midst of war. Families are in disarray.
The stock market is on a downward spiral. The Pledge of Alliance is
under scrutiny to remove the words "Under God." Even Martha Stewart
who once seemed invincible financially may lose it all.
I have come to suggest that things may get bad. And they may even
go from bad to worst. Just ask a band of untested disciples who
would eventually become hated, pursued, persecuted falsely
condemned, tortured – have at this point in the text really not seen
bad times compared to what lies ahead.
But for the believer in Jesus Christ – we can experience something
in the midst of our pain and sorrow that the World cannot dare
experience. We are special – because the World cannot claim this –
but believers can.
We can experience joy in the midst of any crisis. This answers a
lot of questions that you may have:
How can someone whose terminal lay in a hospital and
sing "Everything Will Be All Right?"
How can someone who’s going through the pain of divorce jump up and
shout "I Still Have Joy?"
How can someone who’s lost a loved one or a best friend holler
out "This Joy that I have the World didn’t give it and the world
can’t take it away?"
How can someone who’s hampered by financial conditions, walking
around with money funny, change strange, friends flaky, home
hellish, character corrupted, body broken, spirit soured,
friendships folded, arthritis attacked, dare to stand up and
say "This is my story, this is my song, I’m praising my savior, all
the day the long."
It is simply because God has enabled us to experience separation in
suffering. In other words, you can be in the midst of pain, but you
can derive joy in the midst of your pain. You can be physically
hurting, but you can still have joy in your soul. You can be
mentally exhausted, but still have peace of mind.
This is the tension of the text as we find Jesus and His disciples
completing a pre-Calvary orientation. Jesus knows that it will be a
few short days and he will be crucified. And in a few days they
will entomb his body. And three days later He will rise and will
sojourn for forty days. And then He will catch the Cloud Shuttle
and be restored to His rightful place in Glory and reunited with the
Glory that He recused himself from to be born of a virgin.
These Disciples have come out from the world to become the followers
of Jesus. They are now strangers to the World, because Jesus says
His kingdom is not of this world. They have left all to follow
Jesus.
The Book of John gives us a clear photo of his life: Chapters 1
through 12 shows us His public ministry; Chapters 13 through 17
shows us His private ministry with His Disciples before the Cross;
Chapters 18 and 19 presents to us the Cross; Chapters 20 and 21
shows us the Resurrection and Post-Resurrection ministry.
In Chapter 16, Christ is preparing His disciples for the Cross. He
knows that when He leaves from the Earth, they will be surrounded by
Satan’s world system. They will be left "in the World." This is a
fare-thee-well discourse.
But the World that Jesus refers to in this interrogative is not the
World in the Physical Sense. He is not talking about the rocks and
the trees, the waters and the skies, the seasons and the sun. No,
He is talking about a mean, cruel world that is controlled
spiritually by Satan. Remember Jesus tells us "you are IN THE WORLD
but not OF the world."
Let me take a moment to tell you that this is a cruel and mean
world. The old blues singer once wrote a line that talks about the
attraction of the world and this world order: "Bright Lights and
Big City gone to my baby’s head." The world system turns strong men
into addicted adults. The world system turns family structure into
separate ways. The world system makes a young girl look old and an
old woman tries to wear spandex and look young. The world system
mocks Spirituality and lifts up divinations. In other words for a
believer, this world is not our home.
But Jesus gives words in an Upper Room to prepare us for the worst
and yet anticipate the best. First off, He refers us to the Words
that He has spoken to us. Although he is directly speaking to the
Apostles, you can share in this word. Thank God that Jesus has
spoken to us!
Do you know there is power available when Jesus speaks?
He can say peace be still and winds and waves will take a vacation.
He can say Ephphathra and closed ears will open and strung up
tongues will loosen.
He can say come forth and a dead man will answer from death and turn
a funeral after-service into a family reunion.
He can say come hither and a watery body can become an unusual
walkway.
He can say somebody touched me and someone who’s reached out for him
will agree with him that he’s got so much power that just one touch
will turn a life around.
Somebody here knows that you would have given up a long time ago,
but you had a word – just a word – to keep you going:
You were going to quit – but greater is He that is in me than He
that is in the world.
You were going to throw a pity party – but weeping endures for a
night, but joy comes in the morning.
You were going to lose your mind up in here, up in here – but He’s
able to keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.
You were going to discard all your hope – but the Lord is my light
and my salvation.
He says I have spoken unto you – these things, these matters, these
prophecies that in me, in Him, you might have peace.
The key here is in Him. You can’t get peace no other way or by any
other method than by him. The Greek word here i-ray-nay suggests
that In Him………
In Him there is peace…
In Him there is rest….
In Him there is quietness…..
In Him there is peace between individuals…
In Him there is the experience of the Messiah’s Peace…
In Him there is the way that leads to Salvation – Jesus Christ…..
In Him there is the assurance of Salvation – Jesus Christ…
In Him there is tremendous fellowship….
In Him there is intimate communion…
In Him there is no failure…
In Him there is life and life everlasting…
In Him there is hope and trust…
George Morrison the theologian says that Peace is the Possession of
Adequate Resources. Another writer suggests that Peace depends on
appropriate relationships and spiritual resources depend upon
spiritual relationships.
If Christ is the source of encouragement and peace in our lives, the
Devil is the Source of Discouragement. Satan works overtime to
discouragement us in this life. He throws all that he can to cause
us to lose sleep, lose patience, lose hope, lose joy, and lose
sanity.
All I know is that through Jesus Christ – I have peace.
Romans 5:1 says I have peace with God the Father
Proverbs 16:7 says when my ways please the Lord, I can have peace
with my enemies
Hebrews 12:4 says I can follow peace with all men
The world is out of control – but I have peace.
The crime rate is up – but I have peace.
The stock market is crashing – but I have peace.
There are wars and rumors of wars – but I have peace.
I have seen believers go to hell and back – but yet have peace.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and placed in jail, but writes
I have peace. The Apostle Paul is shipwrecked, beaten, ridiculed,
tried, tested and still demonstrates a life of peace. Someone’s
husband walks away and leaves them with a house full of kids and
rent due, but still has peace. Someone is well one day and the
doctor says you’re sick the next day, but still has peace. I’m
going through some things right now – got trouble on every hand –
storm clouds around me – friendships dissolving – and yet, I still
have peace. I can’t explain it, but I can explain it. I can’t tell
it, but I can tell it.
I have peace because I am in Him. I’m not just around Him or near
Him. I’m not just on the periphery or on the premises or on the
property. I’m not within 100 yards of him. I am in Him. And the
good news is that not only am I in Him, but He is in me.
I have a feeling that I’m not the only one in this room that is in
Him! I’m not the only one who found out that without Jesus there is
no peace but to know Jesus there is peace.
This peace that I have moves me to the category of the overcomer.
Let me tell you that every believer is either an overcomer or is
overcome.
Jesus says that in the world… the NIV reads "In this world" – this
kosmos, this world that we are in but of, Jesus says ye shall have
or you will have tribulation. This is not a maybe or might could –
this is definitive. The syntax of His argument is that you might as
well get ready for it, get prepared for it, anticipate it, it’s
assigned in your destiny – you will have tribulation.
In Christ there is peace – but in the World – in our surroundings we
will have tribulation – thlipsis (Greek) – you will have
afflictions, troubles, anguish, and persecution. Thlipsis suggests
that tribulation is akin to being pressed together or receiving
pressure.
Somebody here has had pressure all week long.
You’ve got pressure in your family.
You’ve got pressure on your job.
You’ve got pressure in your checkbook.
You’ve got pressure in your church.
We live in a pressurized world. Everything is pressurized. Let me
tell somebody here that if you have not had any pressure in your
life – just keep on living. Pressures will come. But Jesus says
that what Satan meant for evil, God meant it for good.
I have discovered that when you live in a pressurized world, you get
a pressurized testimony…..a pressurized shout……a pressurized
dance…..and you don’t care about what others say – I was in the
pressure cooker, I felt pressure, but the Lord made a way out of no
way.
See in the midst of your tribulation, Jesus does not say go ahead
and give up. He does not say, well you did your best and you tried,
so go on back home and cry. Jesus says be of good cheer. He says
look, cheer up! You don’t have to look sad, cry all the time, drop
your head all the time, throw pity parties – he says cheer up!
There are three cheer ups that Jesus uses in the Scriptures. He
first says cheer up because of His pardon in Matthew 9:1-8; He then
says cheer up because of His power in Matthew 9:18-22; and then He
says cheer up because of His presence in Matthew 14:22-27.
If you need a reason to cheer up – you ought to cheer up because He
has pardoned your sins!
If you need a reason to cheer up – you ought to cheer up because He
has power, power wonder working power.
And if you need a reason to cheer up is because He will never leave
you nor forsake.
It’s written in the present active imperative voice. You must cheer
up and not just today, but every day – cheer up. He goes on to say,
the reason why you can cheer up is because I have already overcome
situations. Jesus has already conquered situations. Jesus has
already prevailed in situations. Jesus has already got the victory
over situations.
That sounds like a point to praise His name! I can celebrate
because He has overcome some things:
He has overcome sickness
He has conquered sickness
He has prevailed over sickness
He has the victory over sickness
He has overcome trouble
He has conquered trouble
He has prevailed over trouble
He has the victory over trouble
He has overcome hatred
He has conquered hatred
He has prevailed over hatred
He has the victory over hatred
He has overcome poverty
He has conquered poverty
He has prevailed over poverty
He has the victory over poverty
But most of all – He has handled death
He has overcome death – although He died at Calvary
He has conquered death – because He got up with all power in His hand
He has prevailed over death – because He has the keys of death, hell
and the grave
He has the victory over death – because He is still alive!
You see God can transform our Sorrows into Joy. The wonder is not
that we have troubles, but He can give us peace in our trouble.
No matter what you’re going through……You can be of good cheer – for
He has the Victory. We have the power because of the Holy Ghost:
Power to Endure
Courage to Face Problems
And Ability to celebrate the Victory….. I don’t know about you but
I’m glad that I’ve got the Victory….
(CLOSE)
