If you would remain standing and open the pages of the Scripture in your hand to our first Scripture reading from the Old Testament, Psalm 16, verse 11. Psalm 16, verse 11. And the question I want you to ask yourselves this morning, as you hear the preaching of the Word of God and it's reading this morning, is where does your joy come from? Where does your constant and undistractable joy is grounded? Well, the psalmist tells us where our joy comes from. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In your presence, the psalmist said, there is fullness of joy. Now let's turn to the Gospel of John chapter 16. Those of you who are here for the first time, every Sunday morning we have been going through the Gospel of John, and this morning we find ourselves in chapter 16, beginning from verse 16 to 24. And please remember where we are in the Gospel of John. This is Thursday night, few hours before Jesus will be crucified on the cross. And he's still teaching his disciples, preparing them how they will live their Christian life in his absence, physical absence. A little while, you will see me no longer. And again, a little while, and you will see me. Some of his disciples say to one another, 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'm going to the Father. So they were saying, what does he mean by a little while? We do not know what he's talking about. Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him. So He said to them, is this what you are asking yourself? What I meant by saying a little while and you will not see me? And again, a little while and you will see me? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come. But when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. In that day, you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. Amen. Let's pray. Our most loving and gracious God, in your holy word you have said that your word shall go out from your mouth, and it shall not return to you empty, but it shall accomplish that which you purposed. O Lord, this morning we pray and we ask you to let the message this morning accomplish that you purposed. Amen. Have a seat. How many of you remember that lovely and uplifting verse in the book of Psalm that says, Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning. You'll find that in Psalm 30, verse 5. Now, that verse, that truth in the Scripture very well captures the mood and the tone of what we see in our text this morning. Our Lord Jesus Christ saw his disciples because of everything that he told them. I'm going to leave you. Not only that, but also you will be persecuted by people outside of the world and inside of the church. In and outside. As a result of what he told them, he saw them being sorrowful. He saw them being sad. And he told them, your sorrow will turn into joy. At the end, Chapter of his earthly ministry. Our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to his disciples about a lasting and indestructible and fullest joy that they will have, that they will receive. After a time of sorrow, Jesus told them, a time of joy will come. Now, I want you all to keep in this mind, Jesus is not saying, your sorrow will be replaced by joy. What He's saying is, your sorrow will turn into joy. There are two different things. Sorrow being replaced by joy, and then your sorrow will be somewhere here, and then at some point come back to your life, and create the same sorrow again? No, Jesus is saying, your sorrow will turn into joy. And that joy will go beyond of your sadness, beyond of your sorrow. All the time, as a Christian, you will have that sorrow. It will be a lasting joy, it will be indestructible joy, It would be a joy in its fullest. What kind of joy is that? Brothers and sisters in Christ, every one of us, including myself, we always want to rejoice. We all want to have joy in our Christian life. If we can, every one of us, we want to avoid sorrow in life. We don't want to be sorrowful. We don't want to lose anyone. We just want to be happy. But one thing that the Scripture doesn't promise us, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is a pain-free Christian life. There is no such thing as a pain-free Christian life. But there is a promise in the Scripture that if we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ, Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we will have joy that is indestructible, joy in its fullest. The Gospel of John can be divided into two parts. Verse 1 to 12, you all would remember, verse 1 to 12, give us the account of the identity of Christ. gives us the accounts of the ministries of Jesus Christ. But starting from verse 13, it is just one week, the last week of Jesus' ministry on earth. It is one sermon. One sermon that Jesus preached to his 11 disciples, to the true disciples, one whole week before he was just crucified on the cross, starting from the upper room, on their way to the garden of Gethsemane, until Judas betrayed him and the Romans took him to the cross. He preached one sermon for the whole week. to prepare his disciples on how they should live for God's glory for their Savior, even in his physical presence. Remember what he told them in chapter 3, 13, verse 1, my hour has come. Chapter 1 to 12, you know, every chapter you read, chapter 1 to 12, my hour has not yet come. Chapter 13, verse 1, my hour has come. And now let me prepare you. Let me teach you. Let me instruct you. I want you to know that I will be living you. I want you to know that you will be persecuted. And then he tells them, but your sorrow, your joy will turn, your sorrow, your sadness will turn into joy. How? Well, I want us to consider this in three ways this morning. First, I want us to consider the present confusion in verse 16 to 18, that the disciples were confused with what Jesus was saying to them. And then the promise of the future hope, verse 19 to 22. And then the promise of prayer that leads to full joy, verse 23 and 24. First, the present confusion. Listen to Jesus. A little while and you will see me no longer, and a little while You will see me. So some of his disciples say to one another, 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. Because I am going to the Father. So they were saying, what does he mean by a little while? We do not know what he's talking about. Now please don't be hard on the disciples. Maybe some of you are saying, were they that much foolish? He's talking to them about what? His death, His resurrection, His second coming. I'm sure some of you are saying, what's wrong with them? Well, you are saying that because you have the full revelation of what is coming. They didn't have that. They didn't know what you know now. They were receiving all these instructions for the first time. This was before crucifixion. This was before resurrection. So they were confused. The problem was they didn't ask him what he was talking about. They were just talking among themselves. What is he saying? I don't get it. What is he talking about? They had Jesus with them. They could have asked him, Lord, we don't understand what you're saying. Help us to understand. And this is a lesson to all of us. We have the full revelation of God in his word. And sometimes what we do is we just remain being confused. And sometimes instead we go to the Lord and in prayer ask Him, Lord I don't understand what I'm reading. I don't understand your teaching here. Help me. Reveal it to me. Explain it to me. The reason why He sent the Holy Spirit to us is for the Holy Spirit to teach us the truth. But we should ask, we should pray. Some Bible commentators, you know, they say they didn't ask Him because they were proud. Some say they didn't ask Him because they were ashamed. Because remember what He already told them in Matthew 17, 22-23. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and you will be raised on the third day. Do you see how feeble we are? How we can be fearful, confused, very easily under pressure? Imagine Jesus just told them, I'm leaving you. And then with that, he told them, you will be persecuted. He also told them, you will be killed. Would you blame the disciples? I don't blame them. I'm sure you have been there in your Christian life many, many times. You know the scriptures, you know all the promises of God in the scriptures, but you find yourself being fearful, doubting, questioning God's goodness in your life, His faithfulness in the past. You put question mark before God and all His love and all His promises. That's exactly what's happening here. Instead, they ask Him, They were sorrowful. Psalm 119, 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. They could have asked Jesus, help us. Shed light on what we don't understand. John 1, 4. The gospel of John tells us, in him was life. In who? In Jesus. And then what? And the life was the light of man. What does it mean by the light of man? Revelation, insight, understanding, guidance. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. I came to give light to the heart and the mind in darkness so that people would understand who I am, so that people will understand why I came forth." So, brother and sister in Christ, if you also find yourself in a time of confusion, misunderstanding, ask! Pray! And God through his word and by the spirit will reveal it to you. Then the future joy, listen to Jesus. Jesus knew what they wanted to ask him. So he say to them, is this what you are asking yourself? What I meant by saying, a little while and you will not see me. And again, a little while, you will see me. Don't you love Jesus? Don't you appreciate your savior? You would expect Jesus to rebuke them. You would expect Jesus to just say to them, don't you remember? I already told you. But remember, he's the good shepherd who loves his sheep. So he gives them the explanation with a promise, the good shepherd. He didn't get mad at them, He didn't rebuke them, but continue teaching them, continue instructing them. In verse 20, He told them this. Listen to Jesus in verse 20. He told them this, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. Let me ask you this. If you see someone dying, if you see someone dead, would you rejoice? Would you celebrate the death of someone? You know, as Christians, even if someone who didn't like us, if someone who really, you know, hurt us in this life die, we would say, I'm sorry that he died. But Jesus is saying, when I die on the cross, the world will rejoice and you will lament. So he's contrasting two things, the joy of the world because of his death and the sorrow of his disciples because of his death. Why would the world rejoice over the death of the Son of God? Because, you see, they considered His death as their victory. They were saying, it is over. We did it. We killed him. He's no more the Lord of our lives. We're not going to bow down and worship this man, Jesus. He's dead. We killed him. Victory is ours. We are in control. He's not in control. So they were rejoicing. They were rejoicing because they thought they avoided Him to just continue in their sin. Love in darkness than righteousness and the light that the Son of God gives them. That was the reason for their joy. That's the reason for their celebration. It was not, you know, a simple rejoicing, but it was a rejoicing or a joy, thinking that they won victory over the Son of God. What foolishness! That's why people in the world need the gospel. That's why our family members who are not in Christ need the goodness of the gospel. Because they always lead in this mood of what? Celebration, rejoicing, no one is in control over my life. I'm the god of myself, my own life. For me, he's dead. We killed him. But you will weep, Jesus said, and lament. Why? Because you don't understand what I'm telling you. Because you don't understand what the cross will produce. At the cross, through my death, will come joy. The cross will produce joy, joy that is indestructible, joy to the fullest. You remember the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus in Luke 24, 21? And what, they told Jesus on the road because they didn't recognize him? This is what they told him, but we had hope. We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. But now, Our hope is crushed. They were in a mood of sorrow. They were sad. They thought like what the world was thinking. You know, they were not rejoicing over his death, but they were sad that he died. They didn't understand why he died. They didn't understand that he died on the cross to give them joy, everlasting joy. Joy that no one will take away from them. That's why they said, we had hoped. The implication is we don't have hope now. He's dead. After all, it's the third day. Where is he? Where is his resurrection? We had hoped, but now our hope is crushed. Mary, she met him. outside of the grave. She didn't recognize him. She thought he was a gardener. You remember what she told him in John 20 11. If you have taken his body away, please tell me so I can go and get him. She was sad. She was lamenting. There was no hope in her heart. That's why that's what Jesus is talking about. The world will rejoice. You will lament because you don't understand. You don't understand that I'm going to die on that cross for your joy. Special way of joy, different joy, a lasting joy. Joy that goes beyond of your sadness. But Jesus said, your sorrow will turn into joy. Question, what is he talking about? Is he talking about his resurrection? Is he talking about him sending the Holy Spirit? Is he talking about his second coming? All three were in the mind of Jesus Christ. Yes, He was talking about His resurrection. He was talking about Him sending the Holy Spirit, the Helper. He was talking about His final judgment. All three were in His mind. And you know why? Because they all are the ground of our joy. That's where you stand. His death, His resurrection, and His return. Think about that. Think about those three things. He's raised to raise you up eternally. He sent the Holy Spirit to you. The Holy Spirit is in you, helping you. He's coming to judge the wicked and the righteous. Then what is loss? What is want? What is temporal sickness? If you just think about these three grounds of joy. And then he gives them this marvelous illustration. Listen to Jesus. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will return into joy." Now listen to this. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come. But when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy. that a human being has been born into the world. What an illustration. Now listen, I'm not speaking from experience. I have never given birth. My wife did, with all my children. But what Jesus is saying here is, it's like the woman in labor. It's like childbearing. Now I'm going to ask you a question. Why do you think these mothers who gave birth to their children, why do you think they went through that pain and anguish willingly? Why do you think a mother goes through that pain and anguish willingly? Because they know that that sorrow and pain and sorrow will turn into joy. They know that. They know that. They know the moment that they will forget their pain and anguish is on the way. I'll tell you a true story of a woman who was in the delivery room to give birth. The nurse, she was in pain, she was in anguish. And the nurse said to her, just to ease her pain, she said to her, you know, press on, press on, breathe. And then she asked her, are you going to come back to this room? And the mother said, don't even think about it. I'm not coming back to this place. And then after a while, the mother was, you know, holding her baby, smiling, rejoicing. And then the same nurse came back to the mother and she said to her, oh, congratulations, but I'm sad that I'm not going to see you in this room ever again. And the mother said, why do you think that? Who told you that? I'm coming back. Why? The pain was forgotten. The sorrow was turned into joy. That's exactly what Jesus is saying. Your pain is temporal. Your pain, your sorrow is unto joy. Your sorrow will turn into joy. Because of his death and resurrection, Romans 4.25, he was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. The gift of justification, the gift of righteousness that His death brought to us. And then the forgiveness of our sins, Psalm 321. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. So think about the forgiveness of your sin. And then think about your justification. And now Jesus is saying, those two, that my death and my resurrection brought to you, they are your ground for joy. And no one is going to take that joy away from you because no one is going to kill me again. And no one is going to accuse you of sin that will take you to hell. I paid it. It's covered. You're forgiven. You're my child now. You're secured in my death and resurrection, because I loved you to the end. That's why God's love is called in the Scripture, eternal love. Eternal and electing love for eternal life, but unto obedience. Unto obedience. One thing that we always should never forget, our salvation is unto obedience. God delivered His people from Egypt, remember. He brought them from Egypt, He delivered them, and then He gave them commandments. Not as a way of salvation, but as a standard for Christian living. Save it unto obedience. But think about your justification and the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus is saying, those two brings to you joy to its fullest. And then lastly, and in a very amazing way, Jesus told them this. In verse 22 so also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and No one will take your joy from you in that day. Which day the day of my resurrection? When I am raised from the dead and Then I will ascend to my father Then you will start praying You will use this means of grace, prayer, to pray to my father in my name. What is Jesus talking about here? Why did he bring prayer here? As a promise. Even he told them, so far you didn't ask anything in my name because I have been with you. I am with you. But once I'm gone, Then with the help of the Holy Spirit, you will pray to my Father because I'm going to give a direct access to the Father. But you will pray in my name. And my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Even when He says no, you will receive it joyfully. Because you have prayed in my name, and you have prayed according to my will. You see, Jesus here is not saying, when you pray, every time you pray to my Father, I give you my sovereignty. And then you instruct my Father. No, that's not what Jesus is saying. I'm still sovereign. But you will pray recognizing that I am the only mediator between God and you. You will pray, recognizing that in my name, the name that you will use in your prayer, in the name of your son Jesus Christ. In my name, you have salvation. In my name, you have every gift that the Father has preserved for you. In my name, you have confidence. In my name, you have insight. In my name, you understand your position as a child of God. You will pray in my name. What a privilege. That's why Jesus told his disciples, me going is for your advantage. Me departing, going to my Father is advantageous for you. Because the Holy Spirit not only be with you, but he will be in you. And he will be in you forever. And he will be in you to help you. to help you when you pray, to help you when you are tempted, to help you when you endure even persecution. So that, listen to Jesus, He will give it to you until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. Your joy may be full. Now, beloved, let me tell you this. Jesus, our Savior, our Good Shepherd, never told us anything that He hasn't done. Do you know that? He never commands us, He never tells us to do anything that He hasn't done, that He was not a perfect example for. Let me show you from Hebrews 12. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which claims so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. But who is our example? The pastor? The elder? A fellow believer? No, Christ. Listen to the writer of the Hebrews. Look into Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Who? For the joy. Who? For the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Even Jesus. Even Jesus' sorrow, beloved, had to turn into joy through endurance. He had to endure. But when he endured the cross, he was looking beyond of his sorrow, beyond of his pain, to the joy. His joy now, he's the second person of Trinity. What is that joy that he was looking to? Your salvation. Jesus was saying, it's okay, I'm going to suffer. I'm going to go through this labor like a woman giving birth to her child. I'm going to do it because I will save my sheep because I'm going to give them joy that is indestructible and to its fullest. I want to ask you this morning, do you have this joy in your life? Do you have this joy in your life? When you are sorrowful, when you are in pain, like a woman in labor, Do you go through that pain and sorrow knowing that your sorrow will turn into joy? The children of God, we have this kind of joy in Jesus, in his death and resurrection. So let us rejoice in him. Let's pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, as you have exalted us by your word, help us now to look to Jesus the author and the perfecter of our faith. Lord, help us to look beyond of our sorrow, beyond of our pain, like Jesus, to endure so that our sorrow will turn into joy because of the risen Lord. In his name we pray, amen.