Things That Really Matter In Life Series

Things that Really Matter in Life

The Gospel of John

John 16:25-33; Romans 8:31-37

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church – February 7, 2018

(Revised April 17, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to John 16:25. Here we are only a few hours away from the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Starting back in chapter 13, Jesus has been preparing His disciples for the cross, and the things that would happen after that.

*Naturally, the Lord was focused on the most important things, and He will do the same in tonight's Scripture. As we read John 16:25-33, please think about the things that really matter in our lives.

MESSAGE:

*Way back in the early 1990s, one of my brothers lived about two hours from Panama City, Florida. And we went to the beach a couple of times during our summer trips to see him.

*I remember us sitting in the sand one time, cutting up, and having a good time. It was almost like when we were kids, only we were two men in our 40s, -- and we looked it. I'm sure we looked goofy, but we were having a good time, and we didn't care.

*Then this young couple came by, very attractive, stylish and fit. That woman looked at us with total contempt, utter disdain. It was like she was thinking, "What are these two old men doing uglying up my beach?!?" After they passed by, I looked at her T-shirt, and the back of it said, "Image is Everything."

*Image is everything? No. It's not. In the long-run, image is nothing. So, what really does matter? What's really important in life? The Word of God shows us. And the Scripture for tonight shows us 3 things that matter for every Christian.

1. NOTICE FIRST THAT WE CAN GET OVERCONFIDENT.

*Christians: We can get overconfident in ourselves. That's what happened to the disciples in vs. 25-30.

*In vs. 25, Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language." In the KJV Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs." But we would relate better to the word "parables." And that's the way this same original word is translated back in John 10:6, so think of figurative language as parables.

*Again, starting in vs. 25, Jesus said:

25. "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; 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.

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.

28. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.''

29. His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!

30. Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.''

*In vs. 30, the disciples were overconfident in themselves, and Jesus pointed this out to them in vs. 31-32:

31. Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?

32. Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me."

*Even though the disciples were all greatly troubled on the night before the cross, they still fell into the trap of overconfidence. In effect, they were saying, "Now we understand. We get it. Now we are sure about You, Jesus! Now we really believe that You came forth from God.''

*They were overconfident, overly sure of themselves, and puffed up with a bit of spiritual pride. Sometimes we can get that way too because it's easy to get puffed up with spiritual pride.

*It's one of the traps that young Christians fall into, especially when they first get serious about serving God. "Oh," they think, "I have arrived! I've really got it together now! Just get out of my way and watch me go!"

*But Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. . ." And 1Corinthians 10:12 says, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

*"The Message" paraphrase says: "Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."

*That's great advice, and we should take it. But what happens when we don't? How does the Lord handle our over confidence? Well, Jesus lets us know. He warns us about our overconfidence.