If you have a Bible and would like to turn and follow along as I read will be in John 16, verses 16 through 24. John 16, beginning in verse 16. As we continue in this upper room, discourse. Jesus said, a little while and you will not see me. Again, he's speaking to the 11. and again a little while, and you will see me, because I go to the Father. Then some of his disciples said among themselves, what is this that he says to us, a little while and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me, and because I go to the Father? They said, therefore, what is this that he says, a little while? We do not know what he is saying. 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, you'll not see me. Again, a little while, and you will see me. Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come. But as soon as she is given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore, you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. 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. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. Father, we thank you for the Word of God. It's living, it's active, it's sharper than any two-inch sword, and we pray that it will penetrate our hearts today. Lord, do us good as we hear the Word. May we hear it with love, faith, and lay it up in our hearts, and then put it into practice in our lives, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, the holiday season is upon us, and it is for most people I think a pretty happy time but there is also a lot of sadness associated with the holidays and that for many obvious reasons. If we have family troubles and family conflict we may not look forward to this time. If we've lost loved ones that we've spent holidays with in the past they're no longer with us that can lead to sadness well the disciples obviously were in a sad state because Jesus says I'm leaving you so this was not a this was not a time of celebration for them this was their last moments on earth with Jesus Christ and Jesus was trying again to instruct them and prepare them for that departure and he tells them this kind of cryptic statement, at least to them and really to many commentators as well. He says, a little while and you will not see me. And again, a little while and you will see me. Well, they were confused. They didn't know what he meant and they were afraid to ask him, right? They should have asked him probably, but no matter. Jesus, he knew what they were thinking and he was willing to answer their questions, even unspoken questions. And that's encouragement for us, because he knows what's on our heart. We may not be able to even utter the words in prayer to ask the Lord about things, but he knows our needs before we even ask. Well, in verse 20, he says, most assuredly, I say to you, you will weep and lament. The world will rejoice, and you will be sorrowful. but your sorrow will be turned into joy. I would also add in that the world's joy will be turned into eternal sorrow is implied as well. But the disciples were sorrowful at that moment, again, because he said he was going to leave them. But the depths of their sorrow had not yet really sunk in, and it would not until he was put to death on the cross. And then they would truly weep and lament. But he said, your sorrow will be turned into joy. What a neat thing to think about. And that's true in our lives as well today. Is there sorrow in your life right now? And the older I get, I realize this. When you're young, it seems like we're happy-go-lucky, right? We don't know a whole lot of trials and troubles. But the older we get, even when we're smiling, there's just some sadness that's still mixed with our joy. But Jesus says that your sorrows, my sorrows, can be turned into joy. Verse 22, he identified why it would be turned into joy. He says, now you have sorrow. But I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." So again, an encouragement, a promise to the disciples, and I believe to us today. Well, the greatest sorrow they would face, as I said, is the crucifixion, the death of Jesus Christ, and he was going to be buried in a tomb. And all the hopes of the disciples were buried with him. But in a little while, they would see him again. Literally three days later, he would rise from the grave, he would appear to them, and in his resurrection appearance, their sorrow would be turned into joy. And it's not as just the happiness that he's alive. But the reflection on that would increase their joy because they would realize that the cross, the very thing that made them the most sad in life, would become the source of their joy. We sing about the cross today, don't we, with joy because we know what was accomplished for us there. And we know that he conquered death by being raised from the death the cross but we know that this is this is this is the greatest blessing that ever came to us so joy comes out of that sorrow and so but again we can we can apply this to everyday life as well we typically live through things that are unpleasant that are hard and yet when we look back on them we can see that the Lord was at work. God was doing something good. He was bringing good out of those difficulties in our lives. He may have drawn us closer to him. He may have grown us spiritually or perhaps advanced his kingdom in some way through that difficulty. I think back to Luke 24, after Jesus had been raised, he was walking on the road, and he comes alongside two disciples who were very distressed, very discouraged, on the road to Emmaus. And the risen Christ came up alongside of them. And all they knew at that time is their master, the Lord Jesus, had died and was buried. That's all they knew. And Jesus began to explain to them, of course, from the Old Testament, how the Christ had to suffer and then enter his glory. They still didn't really know that it was him with them at the moment. But Jesus decides to eat a meal with them. And they sat down and Luke says that in the breaking of the bread, their eyes were open and they knew him. As soon as they saw it was Jesus, as soon as they knew it was Jesus, there was joy. But immediately Jesus vanished from their sight. And they immediately went to tell the 11 about what had happened. And as they were talking about these things with the 11, then Jesus appeared in their midst. And so there was great joy when they all then were gathered together and they saw the risen Lord. Several days later, Acts 1-9 talks about the ascension of Christ. While they watched, Jesus was taken up. A cloud received him out of their sight. And so, and yet there was joy because Luke 24, 52 says they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. So, so it was not that leaving there that was going to make them sad. It was the cross that was going to make them sad. And then it was the resurrection and really everything that followed and flowed from the resurrection. would bring them joy because 10 days later after the Ascension, Pentecost came and Christ sent the Holy Spirit and their joy became even more full than it was before because he would now dwell within them by his spirit. And so Jesus said after a little while they would see and because he says, because I go to the Father, Well, he went to the Father to present himself, his sacrifice in heaven to receive the Holy Spirit from whom, where he pours him out on the church and fills believers. I think the main point in all of this is that even though Jesus ascends to heaven, he really doesn't leave us, does he? He said, I will not leave you orphans previously, but I will come to you in the person of the Holy Spirit. And it's the presence of Jesus, the nearness of Jesus, that is our joy. And Psalm 1611 says, in your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So in your present situation, that may be difficult, that may be hard, that may be discouraging, What you need more than anything else is a sight, a fresh sight by faith, of course, not literal vision, but a sight of Jesus and your sorrow will be turned to joy. Matthew Henry notes that believers have joy or sorrow according as they have or have not a sight of Christ. and the tokens of his presence with them. In other words, the more you see of Jesus in your situation, the more joy you're going to have. So we need this kind of faith that sees Jesus near us and present and working in our lives. We can see Jesus at the right hand of the Father by faith. The Bible teaches that that's where he is now seated, the place of all authority. And we look at Stephen in Acts chapter 7, the first martyr of the church. And even as he's being stoned to death, what does he do? He looks up into heaven and he sees Jesus. And he says, look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. There's joy. There's exuberance in that statement. Even as he was dying, he rejoiced because he saw Jesus and he was going to be with him forever. And so you and I know by faith in the word of God that he is, Jesus is now reigning as king over all things. Jesus is on the throne. And so how can we be sad when we know that Jesus is on the throne? We can be sad sometimes when, well, you know, our candidate didn't get elected, our president didn't get, you know, seated on the throne of his presidency, so to speak. But it doesn't matter. In the scheme of things, if Jesus is on his throne, all can be well with you. And so in our trials, He is sovereign as that King, and so he is able to take your trial and turn it into joy. That's why James could write, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. And that's why Paul wrote in Romans 5 11, not only that, but we glory in tribulations. Why? Because God turns them into joy. So can you see Jesus in your sorrow? We, of course, see Jesus in the word of God. And we see Jesus when we remember how he is near us and with us by the spirit of God. And as he promised in Matthew 28, 20 and low, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Can you see Jesus with you now in your need? If you can, then you will have joy. You know, Hebrews chapter 11 speaks of the saints of old. who saw the Lord by faith. And they were looking ahead to Christ who was to come. We're looking back. We know far more than they knew. And yet they looked at the Lord who was coming by faith and they found joy. Hebrews 11, 27. Moses, by faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. So there's the key to see him who is invisible. The Bible says you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. So if you if you dwell on your circumstances, of course, we know what's going to happen. You're going to continue sad and discouraged. But if your mind dwells on the reality of the risen and reigning Christ and the presence of the Lord by the Holy Spirit, then peace and joy will rule. Can you by faith see Jesus also as coming again, as coming again to usher in the eternal kingdom of heaven? What is he going to do? One of the main things that Jesus is going to do when he comes back is to wipe away every tear, isn't it? To remove all sorrow. Everything that you're going through right now, the sadness that you're going through is temporary. I can say that with authority, right? Because Revelation 21 forces that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying. That's good news for you mothers too, because those babies won't cry anymore either. But we cry. Adults cry. We groan. But there'll be no more pain. The former things have passed away. No more tears because Christ wipes them all away. No more sorrow. None at all. There's going to be nothing there in that place in heaven that could cause sorrow. What is it that causes sorrow? It's not really circumstances so much as sin. Sin is the source of sorrow. But in heaven, sin will be no more. No more sin. The very presence of sin will be eradicated. Of course, death is also a great cause of sorrow on this earth, but death will also disappear, never to return. So knowing this and meditating on it now gives us hope for the future. Yes, we're going to face sorrow. We're going to be sad. We don't deny the grief that comes to us, but We should never grieve without hope. The Bible says in First Thessalonians that believers should not sorrow. We do not sorrow as those who have no hope. So to grieve in hope. Soon our sorrow will be over. In a little while, Jesus will return. And of course, in the text, Jesus gives a fitting illustration of this with the woman who's in labor. Yes, as men, we cannot fully identify with what a woman goes through, except if we were there, we at least saw those labor pains, the sorrow, the anguish. But as soon as the baby is born and the baby is placed in the mother's arms, somehow the pain and the sorrow are quickly forgotten. For joy, Jesus said, that a human being has been born into the world. And Jesus said, you will have sorrow. But I'm going to see you again. Your heart's going to rejoice and your joy no one will take. So it cannot be taken from you. When we see Jesus either now or by faith, now by faith or when we die and enter the presence of the Lord, then our joy cannot be taken away. Of course, as I said, we look to the Scriptures to find Jesus, to see Him, but now He encourages us at the end of this passage to receive fullness of joy by going to Him in prayer. So prayer in Jesus' name is a great source of joy. I know from experience that I lack joy because I'm lacking in my prayer life. And I know that the more I pray, the more joy I experience. But I tend to be I tend to be slack. I tend to not be earnest about prayer and therefore I lose joy. But Jesus said, ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. There are several times already that Jesus has made reference to prayer in this upper room discourse. And so he repeats this theme of prayer to emphasize how important it will be in the ministry of the disciples and for us today. And so Christ is absent from us. That should lead us to seek him earnestly in prayer. Verse 23 says, and in that day you will ask me nothing. And he immediately follows that statement. He says, but you will ask the father in my name and he will give to you. It's kind of a challenge here to interpret these words because in verse 23, there's, first of all, there's two different Greek words for ask. and slight difference in meaning between these two words. So I think the first half of verse 23 can be translated to say this, something like this. In that day, Jesus says, you will not inquire of me with respect to anything. Remember, they've been inquiring, asking things, at least in their minds, about where he was going, and would they see him again, and when, and so forth. But Jesus said, things are going to be made clear to you then, and then you won't have to inquire about these things anymore. Dr. Hendrickson in his commentary said, then these men would know why Jesus had to die, why his death was advantageous for the church, what manner the source of gloom had been turned into a source of joy. And so today you and I have been given the completed canon of scripture. So we have answers and information. We have all we need to understand the meaning of the cross, the meaning of his resurrection, and also of our mission to the world. The Lord has not left us in dark about these things. He's told us what we need to know. We just need to read the Bible and need to study it and we need to look in it and find out what he says. But in the rest of verse 23 and verse 24, Jesus uses this other Greek word for ask, and that's particularly referring to asking in prayer. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. You're not going to be inquiring anymore about these things about my mission, my work, and so forth. No, these things you will know. But you will ask the Father in my name, and he will grant you the strength, the courage, of the power to carry out this mission that I've given you. He said, until now you've asked for nothing in my name. Now, the disciples, of course, had prayed before they had been taught the Lord's Prayer. They had learned to pray from him, but they had not yet prayed in Jesus' name. And we know what that means. It means to pray through him as our mediator. When Jesus died, he made a way into heaven to the most holy place. And He encouraged us, Hebrews encourages us to come boldly before that throne of grace to receive help in our time of need. And that's what Jesus' death accomplished. It opened a way for us to pray. And so to pray in Jesus' name is to pray relying on His merit and His blood to cleanse our sins and also to purify our prayers. It also means we ask in accordance with His revealed will in the Bible. We're not asking just anything that comes into our brain. We're asking things that will glorify his name, not so much things that we want, certainly not selfish prayers, but prayers for the honor of his name and the advancing of his kingdom. If we are committed to the mission of Christ, taking the gospel to the world, if we are seeking first his kingdom, What does he say? He says, and all these other things will be added to you. So focus on the kingdom, focus on the gospel, focus on praying for the lost, praying for open hearts and praying for courage and boldness to speak in Christ's name. And the Lord loves to answer those prayers. And when we get our focus off the kingdom, and on the things that matter, the things of eternity. Then we focus on just the here and now. And we find that our prayers may not be answered. So get your prayers focused on the glory of God, the salvation of sinners, the growth, the building up of this church. Then God loves to answer those prayers. Then, Jesus said, your joy will be full. So here's the thing. Joy and happiness in the Christian life is connected to your prayer life. The more fervent, the more believing we are in prayer, the more joy we will know. We do live in a very evil world today, a chaotic world. It's easy to be depressed by what's going on in this world. But as Christians, we're called to pray. We're called to live at a different level. Seek those things which are above, where your life is hidden with Christ in God. So if you know the Lord, you ought to be rejoicing. You ought to be full of hope, resurrection hope, expectation, because God is on his throne. Jesus is risen from the dead. God the Father hears your prayers in Jesus name. And you cannot wear him out. You cannot wear God out. Children, yes, can sometimes wear us out. I heard sometime this week someone mentioned that a four-year-old has something like, on average, 360-something questions a day for their parents. That's enough to wear you out, wear you down. but God never gets weary of our requests. So pray, pray, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, the door will be opened. You see how much God encourages prayer, and in doing so, we're only gonna have more joy. Why does prayer lead to joy as we close? Well, because it leads us into the very presence of the Lord. It leads us into the heavenly realms where there is perfect joy. And so to the degree that we can leave the cares of the world behind us and enter into this life of prayer, then we will find this fullness of joy. So the happiness of the believer is in God himself and in becoming more and more spiritually minded. The praying Christian is full of joy because he's full of heaven while he's on the earth. So my prayer for you this morning for me is that we would find and make time to spend with the Lord. Yes, take your sorrows to the Lord in prayer. I owe what peace. Or joy, we often forfeit because we don't do that, the hymn says, or because we don't carry everything to the Lord in prayer. So the praying Christian, full of joy, because full of heaven, full of the presence of the Lord. In prayer, sorrows turn to joy, okay? So remember that as you leave, and as you continue throughout the week, and pray. Remember to pray in Jesus' name, remembering all that he has done. so that you and your prayers might be heard and received by the Father. Let us pray.