If you have a copy of the Scriptures this morning, let me invite you once again to turn to the Gospel of John. And this morning, we're continuing this journey that we started some time back, going chapter by chapter, verse by verse through John's gospel. And we are at the 16th chapter, John chapter 16. And this morning, our focus is on verses 17 through 28 of John 16. So let me invite you, as you're able, let's stand together in honor of the reading and hearing of God's word. Again, I'm reading from John chapter 16, beginning in verse 17, wherein the Apostle John faithfully records. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, what is this that he saith unto us? A little while, and ye shall not see me. And again, a little while, and ye shall see me. And because I go to the Father. They said, therefore, what is this that he saith, a little while? We cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, a little while, and ye shall not see me? And again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 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. 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. And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day you shall ask in my name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you. For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and I am come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." May God bless today once more the reading and the hearing of his word, and let's join together in prayer. Gracious and loving God, you promised the apostles of old that you would send the Comforter who would bring to their remembrance all the things that you had spoken. And that promise extends to us today, that the Holy Spirit is here bringing to our remembrance the things that you have spoken and that have been recorded in your word. And give to us now the illumination of the comforter so that we will be able to see the truths that are here and that we will be able to understand them and apply them in spiritual and practical ways to our lives. We ask this in Christ's name and for his sake, amen. And you may be seated. Well, we have been in the upper room with Christ now for a number of weeks. It's a unique portion in John's gospel, something that's not recorded in the other gospels, in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. But this extended description of Christ teaching the disciples in the upper room on the very evening when he would go out and be arrested and then tried and then later the next day crucified. And so Christ has been, we've said, like a parent speaking with children, preparing them for the time when they'll be away from their children. So Christ is preparing his disciples for the time when he will be away from them, not physically present with them as he was during his earthly ministry. And we've seen over these several chapters how Christ had individual conversations with various disciples. Remember, going back to chapter 13, verse 36, Peter had asked him a question. He had given a response to Peter. And then chapter 14, verse 5, Thomas Doubting Thomas had asked a question, and Christ had given a response to that. And then chapter 14, verse 8, Philip had said, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And Christ had responded to him, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And then the last of the four individual questions, chapter 14, verse 22, one of the disciples named Judas, but not Judas Iscariot, had asked how Christ would manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world. And Christ had given an extended response to this beginning in chapter 14, verse 23, and it extended all the way to chapter 16 and verse 16. And that was the last of the four individual conversations. But there's still more to come. There's more conversations and there are still two more interactions that are described in the upper room. And they are not interactions that are done with individual disciples, but they are with just simply referred to here as the disciples. And we see the first of these that begins in verse 17, then said some of his disciples among themselves. And the second of these will be in verse 29, his disciples said unto him. And so today we're going to be focusing on the first of these last two conversations that Christ has in the upper room. And we'll see, we'll move on then to chapter 17, where there's a record of Christ's high priestly prayer. that happens after this dialogue with the disciples has come to an end. And we'll notice in verses 17 and 18, the beginning of verse 19, the description of the disciples asking these questions. And what we're going to see that they're curious about is they haven't quite understood the very last thing that Jesus said Judas not Iscariot that's recorded in verse 16. Look back at verse 16. The last thing that's recorded there that he had said to Judas not Iscariot is this, the other disciples listening in, a little while and you shall not see me. And again a little while and you shall see me because I go to the father. And it's that statement that was inscrutable to them. They could not understand what is he talking about? What is, what is, what is the meaning of this? What's the significance of this? And you might remember, uh, there was, we had a kind of a skeleton crew here last Sunday with the snow, but, uh, I did preach on this passage in verse 16. And I suggested that I thought that Christ was probably speaking about two things when he said, a little while and you shall not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me because I go to the Father. I think on one hand, it's likely that he was speaking about his impending crucifixion and his death and his burial in the tomb so that the disciples would not see him. But then he would be raised from the dead and they would see him. So on one hand, maybe he's talking about his death and then the resurrection appearances. But on the other hand, and I think this is probably more the focus of what he's talking about, is he's preparing the disciples for the fact that he is, after his resurrection, he is going to appear to them for 40 days and then he is going to ascend and be seated at the right hand of the Father. And this will begin this period that we're living in right now, this interim period we're living in right now until he will come again in glory. And one day they will see him at his second coming. And there's a sense in which the joy of the disciples that the disciples will experience when they will see Christ risen from the dead will be like the joy that will be experienced by all disciples at the end of the ages when we see Christ coming in the clouds in glory. And yet there's also something that Christ is talking about in this teaching, where he's talking about, even in this interim period, there's a sense in which Christ is still going to be with the disciples, although he's not going to be physically present with them. How is he going to be present with them? How is he going to be showing yourself to them? He's going to be doing that by means of the comforter, by means of the Holy Spirit. And all of that is sort of wrapped up in what Christ is saying, but the disciples who haven't yet seen the cross or the resurrection or his ascension. They are baffled by what Christ is saying. And so we're going to listen to their questions and then we're going to listen to how Christ is going to respond to their questions and some of the things that he's going to teach us that will be profitable for us as we understand what it means for us to make our pilgrimage in this life. Because he's speaking about what it's like for us to live in this in-between time. So notice, first of all, that the conversation among the disciples begins not with them asking something directly of Jesus, but it begins with them. I imagine a crowded upper room and there are many conversations. We've been in rooms like this. Some of us were here on Friday night. It was kind of like this. Some people were talking in one corner, some in another. And there are different people talking. And apparently some of the disciples off to the side were speaking perhaps in hushed tones among themselves. Look at verse 17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, And so there's sort of this little side conversation that's going on. And I don't know if they were afraid, uh, maybe out of respect for Christ to ask him these questions. Um, it is, I guess we be respectful if there were a Q and a, and somebody said, I completely don't understand anything you said today. Although I think I've heard that after sermons occasionally. But perhaps out of respect for Christ, they did not want to say that. Perhaps also they didn't want to acknowledge their own ignorance. Maybe they thought, well, everybody else must understand this, but I really don't. And sometimes that sometimes is our experience too, as well, in listening to something. And what's the question they have? Again, verse 17, then says some of his disciples among themselves, what is this that he saith unto us a little while, and ye shall not see me? And again, a little while, and ye shall see me. And they seem to be focusing in particular about what does he mean by a little while? It's interesting in Greek, it's just one word, it's a Greek adverb, micron, micro. After one little micro, you will not see me. And then after another micro, you will see me. What does he mean by this? And the question extends in verse 18. They said, therefore, what is this that he saith a little while? Micron. We cannot tell what he saith. We cannot tell what he saith. And as I read this, I was intrigued by that statement. I think if there's any profit for us today, we can just take that statement of the disciples and meditate upon it and gain some spiritual profit from it. We cannot tell what he saith. So I read that and I thought about it. I thought on one hand, that statement is sort of the default position of unbelievers when it comes to hearing the words of Christ. They can read the Bible, they can hear sermons, they can hear teaching, but in the end, an unbeliever will say, we cannot tell what he saith. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2.14, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. And although those who are there are described as disciples, some of you may remember that sometimes in the Gospel of John, the Apostle John uses the word disciple, not always to mean genuine disciples. Sometimes he means simply people who were following after Jesus, but perhaps weren't truly authentic disciples. You might remember, for example, there's that verse in John chapter six and verse 66, after Jesus had performed the miracle, the feeding of the five thousand. And then he had taught about how about himself being the true manna. And it says in John 6, 66, from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. He's not talking about true disciples. He's talking about simply people who were following along. And so perhaps there was a mixed multitude. There were the apostles, but there were also followers, other followers of Jesus, perhaps there. And perhaps not all of them were converted. Not all of them were truly believers. And so in some ways that little statement is sort of the typical statement of someone who's not a believer. We cannot tell what he saith. On the other hand, that statement recorded here by the disciples, by the Apostle John being led by the Holy Spirit to record this statement, in some sense it captures, does it not, the spiritual state of immature and growing believers. In some sense, it might encapsulate sometimes the sentiments of those who are true disciples. Sometimes those who are truly Christ's disciples have to say, I cannot tell what he saith. It's a statement of humility, is it not? It's simply saying, I don't understand everything that Christ is teaching. By God's grace, I'm learning more, but I don't understand everything about what Christ has said. And in fact, that is the default position of every believer, no matter your maturity level. We never in this life will gain perfect knowledge of everything. To be a Christian is to be a lifelong learner. We never stop learning. We never leave the school of Christ. We never graduate from the school of Christ while we're in this life. We could say there is a graduation. The graduation is death when we enter into the glorified state. But while we're in this life, we are very often saying, as these disciples did, we cannot tell what he saith. We're still learning and we need more of his patient instructions. And I think this is particularly striking in light of the apostles who were there because they didn't, again, they didn't yet fully understand what Christ's mission and ministry was going to be. They didn't understand yet the cross and the resurrection. And there are various points along the way where John makes that clear to us. Some of you may remember back in John chapter 12, where there's the account of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It says in John 12, 16, these things understood not His disciples at the first. They didn't immediately understand it, but only in retrospect, after the cross and resurrection, did they understand many of the things that Christ had said and many of the things that He had done. So John continues. Look at verse 19. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them. And now we see that Christ knows the side conversation that's been going on, that he knows the things that they were desirous to ask, but for whatever reason, they were not asking it. And I think this is given to us, not simply to say that Christ was a very, humanly speaking, alert person, observant person, but I think it's meant to tell us here that Christ shares in divine omniscience. And he knows what they're saying because he knows your thoughts and he knows everything about the operations of your mind. And he knows that the times when doubts and questions crop up in your mind. He's not oblivious to those things. He is aware of those things. There's again a passage earlier within John's gospel, if you look back at John chapter 2 and verse 25, wherein it is recorded, for he, referring to Christ, knew what was in man. And he knew what was in the hearts of his disciples. And likewise, in John chapter 6 and verse 61, it says, When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, doth this offend you? And here, similarly, Christ knows what is in the hearts of his disciples, and he does not ignore their questions, but he answers them. And I think this should be a comfort to us, that if we are in a situation where we are trying to figure out Christ's teaching, if we're trying to figure out Christ's guidance for us in our lives, and we say, as these disciples did, we cannot tell what he saith, rest assured, Christ is listening, and he knows our hearts, and he knows our questions, and he will respond in due time. And He will respond to your questions and He will guide you into all truth by the help of the Spirit. And so now we get to see, starting with the second half of here, verse 19 of Christ answering the disciples. And so look at verse 19. He says, do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said a little while Micron and you shall not see me. And again, a little while Micron and you shall see me. So he knows exactly what they are, the question that they are pondering in their hearts. And so He begins to answer, and he starts off in verse 20 with something we can be very accustomed to, Christ's double amen saying, and it's translated in the King James Version, verily, verily. Verse 20, verily, verily, behind that is the Greek words rendering a Hebrew phrase, amen, amen. Verily, verily, I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice." Now he's explaining what is this little while you won't see me and then a little while you will see me again. And once again, to be too confusing, but I think always in these responses, there's kind of a double track of interpretation. On one hand, he's going to speak about the response of the disciples after he is crucified, dead, and buried, and raised. And on the other hand, he's going to be speaking about the experience of disciples living in this age after Christ's ascension and before his second coming. So first of all, we might consider the position of the disciples who will experience the seeing the crucifixion of Jesus, but then we'll also see his resurrection. So to them, in some sense, he's prophesying their experience when he says, Verily, verily, I say unto you that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. And as we look through the gospels and we read about the crucifixion of Jesus and the death of Jesus, we see that there were times when the disciples did indeed weep. In Luke 22, verse 62, after Peter denied Christ three times, it says, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. In Luke 23, verse 27, it says as Christ was going to Calvary, the place where he would be crucified, that there were a great company of people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. So there were tears and there was lamentation as Christ was going to the cross. And at the same time, Christ also predicts and prophesies that the world will rejoice at this, that unbelievers will rejoice at the death of Christ. And also in Luke 23, in verse eight, Christ is brought before Herod and it says, and when Herod saw Jesus that is on trial and about to be crucified, it says he was exceeding glad. And in Luke 23, verse 12, it says that same day, Pilate and Herod were made friends together. And so when Christ goes to the cross, the disciples are weeping and lamenting, and the world is rejoicing. Again, if we think of this dual track, Christ is also prophesying something else. He's speaking, I think, about the circumstances of believers who live in this age. Believers who are living now, who are awaiting Christ's second coming. And Christ is in some sense prophesying about our circumstances. And he is saying that there will be times in this life when the saints of God, when the elect of God are weeping and lamenting while the world unbelievers are rejoicing, even rejoicing sometimes at our expense. And so sometimes Christ, again, he's shooting straight with the disciples as he did before. He's telling them there are going to be times of suffering. There are going to be times of tears and of lamentation. And I think about the book of Revelation, also written by the apostle John. And at the very end of Revelation, Revelation 21.4, when John has seen the new heavens and the new earth coming, he says, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And Christ anticipates that as well. If you look at verse 20, the second half of it there, he says, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. Again, think of those two tracks. On one hand, perhaps he's thinking about the disciples who will see the risen Jesus after they had observed him being brutally put to death on the cross, suffering there and then being placed in the tomb. But then imagine their joy when they see the risen Jesus. There's a great scene that will come later in John's gospel when doubting Thomas sees the risen Jesus. And in John 20, 28, it says that he simply exclaimed, my Lord and my God. And so his sorrow was swallowed up in joy. But then also, again, secondly, think about how this is speaking about believers. who live in this present evil world, who walk through sometimes this veil of tears. Think of believers who live in this life, who sometimes have to deal with the consequences of their own sin and the sin of others. And think of this being a promise that Christ is giving to them, and you shall be sorrowful. But your sorrow shall be turned into joy. Think about some long suffering believer who comes to the time of his or her death and They escape from the pain and the suffering that they have experienced, and they are absent from the body, but they are present with the Lord. And then think, ultimately, how at the last day, at the last trump, when the dead in Christ will rise first, think about how any sorrows that have been experienced in this life, those sorrows will be turned into joy. Christ, goes further in verse 21, and he presents a very striking analogy or metaphor to describe how sorrow is eclipsed by joy. And he's making a comparison between the experience of believers in this age with the experience they will have in the age to come. And the analogy that he draws is related to a woman going through the travails of childbirth. And I speak about this with some trepidation because I've never experienced this. But this is the analogy, the inspired analogy that our Lord chose. And we know that pain and suffering in childbirth came as a result of the fall. In Genesis 3.16 it says, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. That was part of the curse that came upon A woman because of the fall. And so Christ begins this analogy. Look at verse 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. Again, Christ begins this analogy, a woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow. And anyone who has been present to see that hour come, when a woman who is expecting enters into the labor pains, as we call them, knows what Christ is describing here. And they know something that is true, that giving birth is a painful process. And I believe that God has given to women a special strength to be able to endure these sorrows. If it were up to us men, I don't think there'd be very many children born. There's a special, special strength. And we all know that in this way, women are much stronger than men. We may have physical strength to some degree, but we know there are ways in which women are stronger than men. And I believe God has supernaturally given to women this kind of strength. But it's a painful, it's a travail that they have to go through. And I know my wife has told me that her mother said to her, I think when she was anxious about giving birth, she said, oh, it's a pain that will soon be forgotten. And that's true to some degree, but also not so true. There can be trauma related to this. There have been many young women who have been filled with fear about this very thing, but Christ does say that that pain, again, though perhaps, again, he's not discounting it, but he's saying that it will be remembered no more for joy that a man, and it doesn't mean a male, it's the word anthropos, a human being, that she has been, she went through this pain and suffering But the result was an image bearer, a man that's been brought into the world. Everyone who's here, think about it. Your mother suffered. Your mother went through travail so that you might come into this world. And she went through that trauma for you. And again, Christ is drawing an analogy. And the analogy that He's doing is He's preparing the disciples for, again, two realities. First, He's preparing them for the fact that they will have to see His suffering upon the cross and His death upon the cross. And Christ would go through that suffering for His disciples. He would endure the suffering that was set before Him. And secondly, He's also telling them that they will have to go through suffering and persecution because they are followers of Christ. They will have to go through sorrows. And he's already referred to this. Look back at chapter 16, verses two and three. He had told the disciples, they shall put you out of the synagogues. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you because they have not known the father nor me. And so he's preparing the disciples for the trauma that they will have to go through in being his follower. They will be like women who are in travail. But he's also telling them that that pain and suffering that they may have to endure because of their own sin or the sin of others. that eventually it will be replaced with joy and even euphoria at what Christ will do for them when He comes again in glory. This is made plain in verse 22. Look at verse 22. And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." So again, he, I think, makes it quite plain. Look at that first part of verse 22. And ye now therefore have sorrow. Notice he doesn't say, and you might have sorrow. It's a possibility. No, it's simply there in the indicative. It's a reality. You will have sorrow. You will experience sorrow. Sorrow in this age is part and parcel of the Christian life and no Christian has walked through this life without it. If you think you're undergoing something special, unique, different, that your suffering is unique, no it is not. You're simply going through, to a different degree, what every believer has passed through since the time of the first apostles. There will be times of suffering, and yet There's also for every believer alongside the sober reality of difficulties of this life, there is also the promise that we will see Christ again, that our hearts will rejoice. And as Christ puts it, your joy, no man taketh away from you. Again, think about that dual track. After Christ's death on the cross, he would be gloriously raised. And Luke has that account in Luke 24 of the disciples on the road to Emmaus who meet with Jesus and they don't recognize who he is and they invite him into their home. And then he makes himself known to them in the breaking of bread and he vanishes from their presence, but then they say in Luke 24, 32, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures, the sorrows they'd experienced were eclipsed by the joy, their burning hearts of being in Christ's presence. And when in this age his disciples are discouraged, when in this age his disciples are beaten down by the difficulties of life, in this age when his disciples are despondent at their circumstances, Christ says to them, but I will see you again, your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you. It has sometimes been said, no one can rob a Christian of his joy. And one of the proof texts for that is this very verse. No one can rob a Christian of his joy. Now remember, the biblical word joy does not equate to the world's definition of happiness. Joy is a deep gladness in God, despite the external circumstances, despite what may happen to us. And Christ says, no man can take away our joy. No man can rob us of our joy. Think about Paul, when he was imprisoned, and he wrote the letter to the Philippians from the jail cell, and he writes in Philippians 4.4, Rejoice in the Lord always, And again, I say, rejoice. Just as no man can ever, who is an authentic disciple, can ever be plucked from the Father's hand, as Christ put it in John 10, 29. And just as Paul put it in Romans 8, nothing can separate the authentic believer from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, whether that be death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present or things to come. So also no man, no one, no thing, no circumstance can rob the believer of the joy of his salvation. No one can rob us of our joy. Now, I think when Christ says, I will see you again, I think he's referring here ultimately again to his second coming. But I agree as we look further at this passage that he's not simply talking about the joy they will experience at the end of the ages when he comes in glory, but I think he's also talking here about something he's been referring to repeatedly in the Supper Room teaching, and that is the sending of the Comforter, the sending of the Holy Spirit. He will not leave his disciples as comfortless or as orphans in this world. And he will send to them the Holy Spirit, and he will be with them, not in body, but by the Spirit during this present evil age as they await his glorious second coming. And we saw last week Christ's description of what some of the ministry of the Holy Spirit will do. As he talked, going back to chapter 16 and verse nine, how the Holy Spirit will reprove the world of sin because they believe not on me, as he puts it. How the Spirit, according to chapter 16, verse 13, will lead the apostles and then all other disciples, will guide them into all truth. and how also the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ. As it says in verse 14, he shall glorify me. And now Christ is teaching, saying to the disciples that even though he will be absent from them until his glorious second coming, they will by no means be alone. They will have the Spirit. And one of the things that they will be able to do by virtue of the Spirit being with them is they will be able to have the resource of prayer And so he says in verse 23, and in that day, you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you whatsoever you shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you. When he says in verse 23, and in that day, you shall ask me nothing. First of all, that day, I think he's referring to Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2. And when he says, you will ask me nothing in that day, what he's saying is that Christ will no longer physically be present so that they might speak to him as they did during his earthly ministry. But he would be present with his disciples by means of the Holy Spirit, and they would be able to approach the father in prayer during this period, even though they wouldn't have Christ physically present with them. And again, over and again in this upper room discourses, he's preparing the disciples for this interim period when he will not be physically present with them. Over and again, he has talked about the resource of prayer. Go back to John 14, verses 13 and 14. And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. And we talked before about the qualification in my name that is according to Christ's sovereign will. In verse 24, he says, hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full. And what he's simply saying, beginning in verse 24, he's saying, up to this point, while I've been physically present with you, you haven't prayed like you will pray during the time when I will not be physically with you and you will be praying to the Father in my name. Up to this point, you haven't asked anything in my name, but there will come a time when you will be exhorted, even as he does here, to ask so that you might receive. so that your joy, your satisfaction, your confidence in Christ might be made full. And then going on to verse 25, Christ realizes that at this point, the disciples, again, were not yet fully able to comprehend everything he was saying to them because they haven't yet seen him crucified. They haven't yet seen him risen. They haven't yet seen him ascend. And so they haven't yet seen the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And so he says, verse 25, these things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. Verse 26, at that day you shall ask in my name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you. because ye have loved me and have believed that I came from God. And the statement there in verse 26 is a bit puzzling. What does he mean? He will not pray the Father for them. And simply, I think what he's saying here is that their circumstances will be changed after he has ascended. Again, he will not be there for them to speak to face-to-face as they were at this time of his first advent. But instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they will be able to pray in His name. And He's also telling them that the Father, although they are to fear Him, they are to be in awe of Him, that there's another sense in which that because of Christ and because of His mediatorial work and because of His high priestly work, that there is a unique access now that has been made for believers through Christ, even when He is away from them, The author of Hebrews put it in Hebrews 7.25, he will ever live to make intercession for them. And now believers will have, because of Christ's work on the cross and because of the veil before the Holy of Holies being torn asunder, they will have unprecedented access to the throne of God. And although, again, God is to be feared, God is also, as Christ teaches here, a God of love. The Apostle John will write in 1 John 4, 8, for God is love and he's a God who loves his people. And so he will go on to say in verse 27, for the father himself loveth you because ye have loved me. and have believed that I came out from God." How can God the Father love sinful men? How can God the Father love? His eye is too pure to look upon evil. He can love us because He loves the Son. And when we are in the Son, then we receive the paternal love of God the Father. And here is Christ again describing something that the disciples at this point can't begin to understand. Again, they're saying, we cannot tell what he saith. But an unprecedented access to the Father is about to come through his work of being crucified on the cross and being gloriously raised and ascending again to the Father's right hand where he will intercede for his disciples. And then finally, Christ gives, in verse 28, a very simple but a very profound outline of his earthly ministry and his ministry that will come after that. In verse 28, he says, I came forth from the Father and am come into the world. That's his ministry of condescension to us. Again, I leave the world. and go to the Father." And here he's describing his exalted ministry after his resurrection and ascension. He's, again, preparing the disciples for the time when he will come again. Verse 28 doesn't encapsulate everything about his ministry, because there's also the time when he will come again. Go back and look at chapter 14 once again, his words to Peter and the other apostles. Let not your heart be troubled, beginning in verse 1. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions, or rooms, or dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." And we can lay those verses alongside what is said here in John 16, 28 to fill out what the ministry of Christ will be. He condescended, He has been exalted, and He is preparing a place, and He will come again and receive those who are His own to Himself. Well, friends, we've worked through the passage and let me hasten to draw a few gleanings, a few applications that we might take to heart. And let me just mention three. First, we should be able to relate with those disciples who said among themselves, as it's recorded in verse 18, we cannot tell what he saith. We should be able to relate with those disciples. Being a Christian is not a matter of having all the answers all the time, but it is a matter of knowing who has all the answers and who can provide us all that we need to know for life and godliness. It's okay to be figuring things out, even as you persevere in Christ. Now I'm not saying, I'm not glorifying doubt, that's all I'm saying at all. But I'm saying it's okay to say, Christ, I believe, help my unbelief. Or Christ, I understand this part of your teaching, but I need more light on this part. I need the guidance of the Spirit. And We need to remember that Christ knows our anxious thoughts. He knows that we are desirous to ask, even if we have not articulated it to him. He is a savior who cares for us. He's a shepherd who tends his flock. And so we can be comforted by this. Secondly, from this passage, we need to understand that Christ has promised us that in this life, there will be seasons of weeping and lamentations. Again, look back again at verse 20. Verily, verily, I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. There will be times of weeping and lamentations. We will suffer in this life due to our own sin and the sin of others. And we will be sorrowful. There will be seasons of that. But if we are truly in Christ, we know that those seasons of sorrow will also be turned into joy. And we know that if we are truly in Christ, no man, no circumstance can rob us of our joy in Christ. No one can rob you of your salvation if you are truly in Christ. No man can pluck you from the Father's hand. Now, this knowledge should not breed in us spiritual complacency. But what it should inspire and engender within us is a life of gratitude and service and love for Christ that overflows. I have heard those who have suffered through painful medical procedures say that the only way they were able to endure it was by reminding themselves that it would eventually be over. And if you've ever been through any kind of painful medical test, you can endure the pain for a little while as long as you know eventually it's going to be over, it's going to end. Well, if we could use that analogy, the Christian can have a joy even in the midst of suffering, and perseverance within it, because he knows that one day, ultimately, it will be taken away. And he has a hope that one day the weeping will end. Calvin said, verse 22, where it says, and ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. Calvin said this, he said, the value of the joy is greatly enhanced by its perpetuity. For it follows that the afflictions that are light, that afflictions are light and ought to be patiently endured because they're of short duration. By these words, Calvin says, Christ reminds us of what is the nature of true joy. Third application. We need to learn from this passage that we have been given by Christ the incredible resource of prayer. When we pray, we can know that we are addressing a father who is not indifferent to us, but a father who loves us because we love and believe in his son. And you'll notice that here is in other places, the passage that I read earlier from John 14, that the stress is on praying in the name of Christ, praying in the name of Christ. We will receive whatever we ask for in the name of Christ. Well, what exactly does that mean? Does that mean that's a formula, and if I simply throw that in, you know, oh God, give me a new car, I pray this in Jesus' name, and because I use that little formula at the end, that I can name it and claim it as some health, wealth, prosperity gospel people put it? No, that's not what it means. Praying in the name of Christ means praying with understanding that Christ is our mediator and that apart from him and apart from his intercessions and apart from his will, we cannot enter before a holy God. It's not merely a slogan that can be repeated and therefore used to manipulate God. Calvin offered this observation. He said, we are said to pray in the name of Christ when we take him as our advocate, to reconcile us and make us find favor with his father, though we do not expressly mention his name with our lips. So you can pray in Jesus' name without using the slogan, in Jesus' name, at the end of every prayer, when you're approaching the father through Christ as your advocate. Again, it's not just a mantra to be chanted, but it's a frame of heart, mind of dependence upon Christ. Last observation, although it's never explicitly quoted here, I think Christ must have had in mind Psalm 30 as he offered this teaching to his disciples. And I preached on Psalm 30 a couple of weeks ago in the afternoon service. Psalm 30, verse five says, may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30 verse 11 says, thou hast turned for me my mourning, that's M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G, my mourning into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. For now we have the Spirit of God with us, And at a time of God's own choosing, Christ himself will come. And for God's people, mourning will be turned into dancing, and sorrow will be eclipsed by joy. Amen. Let me invite you to stand together.