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John 16, 33. These things have I 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. As the Lord would enable us,
we hope to take up the text that we have just read. This morning
we began looking at it. and we realize that this particular
text, of course, is the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
it's the words that close out his upper room discourse, his
discourse in the upper room. He's been teaching his disciples
on the night he was betrayed all the way back from beginning
at chapter 13 till now. And this discourse will close
in the next chapter with the Lord Jesus's high priestly prayer. So we come again to this verse. We've been working our way through
it, as you recall, and we began by looking at how the Lord Jesus
had given the congregation these teachings. I shouldn't say congregation,
it's given to you, congregation for peace, but to his disciples,
those that were near to him, it was given to them so that
they might know peace and have peace. peace, but he also told
them that in the world they shall have tribulation. And we looked
at how the word of God, the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, how
Christ himself came to accomplish peace for his people. And we
also saw very clearly that the church, that the Lord's people,
that Christians will face in this world. And when we left
off this morning, we left off at this point of antithesis between
the world and the church. And we really have been looking
at just why. why there was this antithesis,
but also highlighting it and exhorting and thinking through,
do we know this antithesis? And we're gonna pick up with
that point, and I want to go on slightly. So we're gonna have
three points this afternoon. First is we're gonna finish out
tribulation. So you can just put as your point
one, tribulation. Point two, We're gonna talk about
joy in the midst of tribulation. Joy in the midst of tribulation.
And then finally, our third point is Christ overcoming. Christ
overcoming. So, tribulation, joy in tribulation,
and Christ overcoming. Resuming, our point on tribulation,
as I mentioned a moment ago, we examined the antithesis. We've
seen how the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Savior, had told his disciples
that in this teaching, as well as elsewhere in the scriptures,
that they would be in the midst of tribulation. And the Lord's
people undoubtedly know this. And Jesus has given them this
word, obviously, so that they would have peace, that is, they
would have solace and comfort in the midst of the tribulation
that is to come. But theologically, why, could
we ask, are Christians subject to tribulation? Why are the Lord's
people subject to the world and the devil attacking them? And we have to first understand
union with Christ. You see, in John chapter 15,
one of the chapters that is in this upper room discourse, the
Lord Jesus Christ opens with that famous line, I am the true
vine. And he goes on, and he says something
very interesting. He's open, John 15, with the
idea that he is the vine and that they must abide in him,
that there's a vitality to being in union with the Lord Jesus
Christ. And after he's finished out all
of that, he forewarns them. beginning
in verse 18 of the coming hatred and persecution. Notice what
he says in John 15, 18. If the world hate you, ye know
that it hated me before it hated you. And he goes on, he says, if you were
of the world, verse 19, the world would love his own, but because
ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you. So what is the reason, congregation,
that Christians are subject to so much tribulation? Well, in
short, it's because God's people with the Lord Jesus Christ, by
the gospel, that good news, that proclamation, that Christ Jesus
has come and died to save sinners. When sinners believe on that,
they're brought into union with Christ, they're begotten, that
is, they're born again to a lively hope in Jesus. And all of a sudden,
they have a new identity, as Paul says, 2 Corinthians chapter
five, that every man in Christ is a new creature. And when you
become that new creature and you're brought into union with
Christ, you begin to reflect the Lord Jesus. And what does
the world hate? The world hates the Lord Jesus
Christ because he's the light shining in the midst of the darkness
because he's come to reprove the world for sin and to preach
the way of salvation. And now he has given his Holy
Spirit to do this thing, to reprove and convict the world for sin
and to show, to be the spirit of truth and to show forth the
truth of who he is. But the world hates it. They
love their sin more than they love God. My friend, you know,
this afternoon, if you're outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're
at enmity with God. If you do not know You do not know Christ. There's
a tension between you and the Lord, because... And what I'm about to say is
so simple, but really it's so profound, because you're a sinner.
And sin separates, separates the whole of the human race from
God. It separates and alienates the individual from God in the
only way for a man to be reconciled, a woman, a child, anyone to be
reconciled to God is by the Lord Jesus Christ and putting your
trust in him. and then you're, of course, brought
into union with him, but he's called his people out of the
world, and in doing that, the world begins to hate them because
they hated Christ first. You see, my dear friend, if you
suffered persecution or tribulation, you must understand that the
world hated Christ long before it hated its people. And the Lord Jesus Christ, by
the way, he feels this. When Christians are persecuted
for righteousness' sake. When we have the situation described
in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five, and you
see it there in verse 10, blessed are they
which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. And in verse 11, blessed are
ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all
manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Why is the church
persecuted? It's not because Christians are
unlikable people. It's not because Christians bring
it on themselves. Why is Christianity so continuously
persecuted? It's because their Savior, because Christ
dwells in them, because they're being created anew in the image
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the world despises that. And the Lord Jesus knows it,
you can read in Acts. Chapter nine, in the fourth verse,
the apostle Paul, on the Damascus road. He's Saul of Tarsus at
that point, an unconverted man, and what do we read there? There's a great light, and he
falls to the ground. He fell to the earth, and he
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? That's Jesus speaking to Saul. He's saying, why are you persecuting
me? Now, how does that make sense? Had Saul ever directly persecuted
Jesus? No. But because Jesus is in union
with his people, because Saul was persecuting Christians because
Christ dwelled in them. Right? Because Saul persecuted
Christians because Christ dwelled in them. Christ felt that persecution
because he reviled the Lord's people. because they were just that,
the Lord's people. So theologically, the reason why Christians are
persecuted, the reason why all believers struggle with that
is because, with persecution I should say, is because they
are made in the image. of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
Christ dwells in them. So let's move then to our second
point. The Lord Jesus drops this great
truth. He says, I've wanted to, I've
said these things basically so that you would have peace, and
you have peace in me, and in the world you'll have tribulation.
And then he says, but be of good cheer. How can we be of good cheer when
we face all manner of tribulation, persecution, affliction? Well, it's not that the Lord Jesus
knows it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy. You
see, and this really should be stated, it should be stated more.
And I'm giving this, I'm preaching these two sermons in a sense
to comfort you, but one of the things that the Lord Jesus is
doing and why the Lord Jesus says what he says in this text
is the Lord Jesus, he says these things to comfort. His people, He's comforting them
by telling them, so He's dealing with them honestly. So the comfort
in hearing from the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going to be afflicted,
you're going to be persecuted, but be of good cheer, where does
that arise from? Where's the comfort in that?
Because the Lord Jesus is telling you, it's coming. And He's trying
to encourage them that when it comes, they should be ready for
it, and they should be of good cheer. They should be They should
be joyous. And you think, you think to me,
you say, pastor, how, how can, like really? You know, I've been
persecuted. I've faced great difficulties.
How can I be joyous in the midst of tribulation? How can the Lord
Jesus tell his disciples that I've given you these things so
that you may have peace in me? But tribulation's gonna come,
and by the way, when it comes, be of good cheer. Well, we go
back to Matthew chapter five. We read verses 10 and 11, and
when you take up, when you read verse 12, he says, rejoice and
be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Jesus,
there again, speaking of persecution, he says, rejoice. He says, they're
going to speak all manner of evil against you falsely. You
will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and when it
happens, what are you to do? You are to rejoice. In Acts. Verse 41, we find this quite, to put it simply, literally
happening. We read in Acts 5 verse 41, and
they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. His name
there is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's disciples were rejoicing of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's promise of a heavenly
reward. There's promise of something
that is better and greater to come, dear congregation. There's promise of something
hopeful. For the Lord's people, there's
promise of a glorious heavenly reward, but right now, As the
Lord Jesus suffered, as the Lord Jesus was reviled, as He is about
to go to the cross and be brought to a low point right now for
His disciples, they need to understand it's time to suffer, but there's
every reason to be of good cheer, because the world hated Christ,
and the world will hate them. And it says, I heard it put once,
you know when you're facing persecution, you're doing when the world all of a sudden
comes up against Christian conviction, when the world all of a sudden
comes and attacks you, when the world congregation all of a sudden
comes and you feel the devil stirs up the world, it might
be in your workplace, it could be in politics, it could be anywhere,
and Christianity is under assault. The true and faithful church
seems to have its back against the wall. It can be terrifying,
and we are Do we ever think that we rejoice? Do you, my friend, rejoice when
you're called to suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you delight that you have been made, as Paul says later
in Philippians chapter three, do you delight that you have
been made a partaker of the sufferings of Jesus? The Christian life is not an
easy life, but when trials come, there is every
reason, there's every reason to be joyful. When persecution
comes, there's every reason to be hopeful and joyful. because
Christ is worthy. And I suppose that's a question
we all have to put to ourselves this afternoon is, is the Lord
Jesus Christ worthy? My friend, is the Lord Jesus
Christ worthy to you? Are you willing to bear the shame And there are so often consequences
for those that follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes to
Timothy, he says, everyone that desires to live godly will suffer
some form of persecution. The Lord Jesus Christ, throughout
his teaching, emphasizes the fact that persecution will come. And congregation, not merely
persecution, But the most intimate people in the lives of Christians will
come and persecute them. They will be set at variance
with those that they're closest to. Lord Jesus tells us, Matthew
chapter 10, think not I'm come to send peace on earth. I came
not to send peace, but a sword for I am come to set a man at
variance against his father and daughter against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes
shall be they of his own household." And you hear that and you shrug
back and you say, if that's Christianity, do I want it? If that's real
Christianity, you're telling me that in the midst of that,
I need to be of good cheer, I need to rejoice. The disciples, they
were beaten, they suffered shame, and they rejoiced in it. How
can you say that? The book of Acts, chapter 14. We find the apostle Paul, and he's gone
and he's confirming the disciples. He's strengthening them. It's
interesting. He begins, this is his first
missionary journey. It's begun back in chapter 13,
and they face persecution of some form or another everywhere
they go. In fact, Paul in chapter 14 ends
up being stoned, and the only thing that saves him is it seems
like he basically passes out, becomes unconscious, and they
think they've killed him, and they leave him, and he wakes
up a few hours later. And then he goes back to all
the places where he has been persecuted. He doesn't say, I
can't go back there. Rather, it's his duty to go back
there. And he goes back to all these
places. And we read in Acts chapter 14,
verse 22, confirming the souls of the disciples. So those that
had been converted, that had come to be Christ's disciples,
he was confirming or strengthening them. and he exhorted them to
continue in the faith and that we must, through much tribulation,
enter into the kingdom of God. You say, well, where's the good
cheer? Where's the rejoicing? Creation, my dear friend, it's
through much tribulation that one enters the kingdom of God.
It's in the midst of much tribulation that there is a heavenly reward. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians
4, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. So how can you rejoice? How can
you be of good cheer? Because the Christian is seeking
a heavenly city. Because the Christian knows this
world is not their home. Because the Christian knows that
as the world hated their master, their savior, their Lord, so
the world will hate And therefore, when they are reviled and despised,
shamed, he went to the cross, was mocked
on the cross. I said he was the king of the
Jews, but mockingly said that he was the king of the Jews.
Arrayed in a purple robe and a crown of thorns above his cross,
there was a sign that read, the king of the Jews. He had two
criminals on either side who mocked him. He was mocked and
reviled, we read, by those that passed by. And yet in all of
this, the Lord Jesus Christ did not revile. He prayed for them. He ultimately
died to save his people. But why do I bring this out?
Because when the Christian is mocked, scoffed at, and reviled,
it is the same treatment that the Savior received. And all
of these things, all of this tribulation, where is the rejoicing? The rejoicing is, is this is
a light affliction, but for a moment that will be nothing in the face
of eternity. 2 Corinthians 4, 17 is the text I read, of course,
that reads, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And
there was a church in the Soviet Union, an underground church,
where that was actually what they chose, that was a small
building, I think it was even in a house, but they chose to
write that verse on the wall behind the pulpit as a reminder
because of the threat, the risk that Christians had to face. the persecution they endured
and the risk that they undertook even to come to church, the threat
to their families and to their livelihoods, and yet as the word
of God was being preached, as if they had any doubt, just above
the head of the preacher was that verse reminding them that
the anxiety they were feeling at that very time that the police
could bust in and break up that meeting, that that was but a
light affliction, there was a promised to them. Is that not something encouraging? Isn't it encouraging that the
Lord's people, even in the midst of persecution, can be of good
cheer because that is what the world, I should say this, that
is the treatment that Christ had at the hands of the world. And the Lord's people can have
great hope in it. But this leads us into our third
point, which is the Lord Jesus Christ overcoming. So there is
tribulation, there of course is reason to find joy and be
of good cheer in it, but what is the fundamental basis of all
of this? It's in Christ. It's because
Christ has overcome. And the Lord Jesus tells us this
in our text. He says at the very end of the
verse, John, of course, 16.33, he says, for I have overcome
the world. There's a question of what exactly
does the Lord Jesus mean by this, that he has overcome the world? What does that mean? When we
think about it, how could Jesus have overcome the world? I will
confess, I was wrestling with this. If you look at this passage
in the original languages, It's very clear that he says, I have
overcome, in the sense that it's sort of definitively accomplished. And you're thinking about it,
this is the night before he was betrayed, the night before he
went to the cross, and yet you have him there saying, I have
overcome. Well, on one hand, you could
say he's overcome, in the sense that he has endured temptation
in the sense, dear congregation, that he has endured much of the
reviling of the world. Yes, he's going to go to the
cross. It's going to be difficult. He's going to be reviled and
mocked, but he knew that he would overcome. Of course, Satan had fired many
darts at him, He's innocent. You can almost
think about this drawing as disciples to the reality that the time
has nearly come that redemption will surely be accomplished for
the Lord's people. You might say, well, okay. What
do you mean? Am I saved? You might say, well,
yes, I believe I'm saved. You might be thinking, what are
you getting at? Are you asking, am I a Christian?
But really, it's in how you think. Many people profess Christianity
and many of those professions are true, but really what the
Lord Jesus Christ is trying to tell his disciples is there's
every reason to find comfort because Christ has overcome,
because Christ has conquered. When you, dear Christian, are
in your weakest moments, when you're in your greatest struggles,
when you find yourself really battling with temptation. What is it that you can look to? Who is
it that you can call upon? What's the one
who has gone before you, overcome. We read, of course,
in Colossians 3, if ye then, being risen with Christ, if ye
then are raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Now think
about this. Christ has overcome. He is seated at God's right hand,
and his people's desire is to be with him in heaven. Their
heart, their lifestyle is to be a heavenly lifestyle, and
so if Christ has overcome, my dear friend, you can always look
to Jesus Christ sitting at God's right hand, and that should be
where your heart is. And Paul goes on, and he says,
you know, if you've been raised with Christ, set your mind on
things above, not on things on the earth. If Christ has overcome,
for you. It should have changed your life.
If Christ has overcome for you, your mind should be set on heavenly
things. You should be seated with Christ
in glory. If Christ, dear congregation,
has overcome, then there is every wonderful And that is good news. Now you might think about that
for a moment and say it's all well and good. The theological
reality is true. Christ went to the cross, he
overcame, he died, and the wrath of God was poured out on him.
He died to save sinners. He laid in the grave and on the third
day he was resurrected again. He sits at God's right hand and
there's all of that theological reality and all of that richness
and it's all true. But on the other hand, when I'm
really tempted, when I'm really low, Pastor, how does that help me?
What does that get me? John in 1 John 4.4, he of course
says, what he says is, he who is in
you is greater than he who is in the world. Right, the one
that is dwelling, the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling within his people
has overcome the world and he is greater than the world. Greater is He that is in you
than he that is in the world. Do you see this? Not only is this
an abstract theological reality, not only is it Christ is there
at the right hand of God, yes, He is. Not only have all these
events happened in the past, but Christ, by His Holy Spirit,
is dwelling in His people and he is greater than the world,
and so his people, by the indwelling of his spirit, by Christ's ministry
in his people, by the ministry of the spirit, God's people are
overcoming. When you say to yourself, I'm
tempted, my dear Christian friend, when you're tempted, greater
is he that is in you than he who is in the world. when you're
struggling, when you lack comfort, when the troubles of this life
seem to come in and they weigh on you and you feel. I don't
know if you've ever been by it. I saw quite a few of these in
Nova Scotia, these little shrubby trees. And you'll see them further
inland as well. And when they're further inland,
they grow massive. But if they're right on the coast,
they're just like little shrubs and the waves as they grow up
through the craggy rocks of Nova Scotia, and that's sometimes
how it feels for the Lord's people. You feel like every day there's
the battering of the wind, there's the banging on of the waves,
that the root, the seed of the word, that it's gone in, there's
good ground, but it's gone in on good ground between crags
of rock constantly assaulted by salt water, constantly blown
about by the wind, and you wonder, in your own life, is it going
to take fruit? And between the constant banging
and thrashing, you wonder, is it really going to bear on? And yet somehow those trees carry
on and they're fruitful. And so it is with the Christians. That's the hope of the Lord's
people. That's the good news. That Christ,
he's saying, I have overcome the world, and because I have
overcome the world, if you are my disciple, you should have
every expectation that that will be a reality. not merely suggestive, but it
points to a great reality, of course, that the world is not
the Christian's home. And this has to be highlighted.
Yes, we talked this morning about the tribulation and sort of the
antithesis between the world and the Christian, the world
and the church, but you, my dear friend, must see the world as
something that needed to be overcome by Christ Well, if you're at ease with
the world, if the world is your home, then you don't see Jesus
as a necessity. Jesus overcoming the world to
you is not really of any consequence. And you yourself, by the ministry
of Christ in you, by his spirit overcoming all temptation, overcoming
and ultimately inheriting a heavenly reward, when you hear that, You
think, wow, a heavenly reward, that sounds nice, but I really
like this life. I don't really see the need of
the Spirit aiding me, of Christ overcoming when the world is
something, frankly, I don't wanna overcome, but I want to embrace
and enjoy and delight in. And you've met people like that. And you know, I know this is
a very common phrase, When you think about somebody, you'll
meet people and they'll say, well, I just love life. We should love
life in the sense of thou shalt not murder. We wanna preserve
and protect our own life and our neighbor's lives, but at
the same time, we realize that everyone's life is going to end.
and there's an eternity that is forever, and that's really
where the Christian's desire should be. The Christian's desire
should be on overcoming the world, not loving life, not embracing
the world, and not trying to get as much pleasure, enjoyment,
and fulfillment out of the world as we can, because rather for
the true Christian, their pleasure, their enjoyment, and their fulfillment
is seated Do you see the world? Do you
look to the Lord Jesus Christ as the one that has overcome
the world on your behalf and now he indwells you and ensures
that you will overcome the world and is that a great source of
comfort for you? Or rather, do you see the world
as hardly a threat and are you at peace with it? Are you at
peace with yourself in this life? The Lord Jesus Creation, He said, He said these words so that they
might have peace, so that they might have consolation and comfort
in the midst of coming tribulation. He told them that in the coming
tribulation, they must be of good cheer, that even though
they don't know how it's all going to turn out, how it's all
going to go, there's great occasion to rejoice And the reason that all of this can be true is because Christ
has overcome the world. And he's overcoming it in his
people by indwelling them and conforming them to his image. There's something comforting
and something hopeful in it. Because they are at peace with
God. Because Christ has overcome for
them. Now, the real question is to
you this afternoon. Do you know this Christ? Do you have this peace? I don't
wanna say at ease with tribulation, but I don't wanna use the word
peace again, to be honest, but do you have peace in the midst
of tribulation? And what I mean is, can you accept
it and understand that this is part of the Christian life? And
even in the midst of it, can you be of good cheer? And can
you be of good cheer? Because Christ has promised,
this is what Christ has called his people to, and when you are
doing what Christ has called you to, there's great joy in
that. And can you rejoice that Christ
has overcome it all for the sake of his people, to save them? So how, then, does the Lord Jesus
Christ provide comfort to his people in this morning's sermon
and tonight's sermon? Of course, they are entitled
Christ's Words of Comfort. How does Christ comfort his people?
Well, he does them by teaching them so that they may have peace. He reminds them of the realities
of the tribulation that will come in this world, but he also
tells them that even though tribulation is to be expected and it's not
going to be easy, he tells them they're to be of good cheer because
if the world hated him, so will the world hate his people. And
ultimately, they can be of good cheer because Christ has overcome. The Lord Jesus, at the close, right before he's
about to pray, at the close of this most wonderful discourse
in the upper room, that's gone back over the last several chapters,
he closes it by comforting his people. So may I close with a
word of comfort for you, dear Christian. If you are struggling,
May I just remind you that the Lord Jesus Christ has given his
word that you may have peace, that in this world you are to
expect tribulation. That's just me being honest,
but you're to be of good cheer because ultimately Christ has
overcome. And if Christ is your all in
all, you can find great delight, comfort in him. this peace in the midst of tribulation,
this good cheer, this Christ having overcome the world. These things are not natively
yours if you're outside of Christ. In fact, they don't natively
belong to anyone. As a professor of mine used to
say, Christianity does not grow naturally or natively in the
soil of our heart. So if you want these things,
If you desire these things, if you want Christ Jesus, if you
fear for your soul, I can offer Him to you in the Gospel. I can
say, come to Him with your burdens that you are laden with, and
He will give you rest. And He, He is a glorious Word. O glorious, most high and triune
God, we rejoice in that glorious salvation that Christ Jesus merited
for his people and that he did overcome the world, that in temptation
he did not give in. that in reviling he, or that
in being reviled, he did not revile, that Lord, enduring persecution,
he did not sin. And even on the cross, he withstood
thy eternal wrath for the sake of saving his people. And we
pray, oh Lord, that we remember the afflictions that we endure.
are but a light momentary affliction, and there's the promise of eternal
glory afterwards. O God, may we know Christ for ourselves. May we delight in Him and may
we be comforted by His words. It's in His name we pray and
ask forgiveness of our many sins. Amen.
Christ's Words of Comfort (2)
Series Topical Sermons
| Sermon ID | 511251038513242 |
| Duration | 45:32 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | John 16:33 |
| Language | English |
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