The sermon 'Sorrow Turned Into Everlasting Joy' by James Lundquist, based on John 16:16-24, explores the transformation of sorrow into joy through the lens of Jesus' teachings to His disciples. Lundquist discusses how Jesus prepared His disciples for the imminent sorrow of His death and the subsequent joy of His resurrection, illustrating that the very source of sorrow became the source of joy. The sermon emphasizes the importance of prayer in Jesus' name, which leads to fullness of joy, and encourages believers to seek understanding and trust in Jesus despite confusion or lack of clarity. Lundquist contrasts the disciples' sorrow with the world's rejoicing and highlights how true joy is tied to salvation and is eternal, unlike circumstantial happiness. The sermon concludes with a call to humility, persistent prayer, and a deeper understanding of the gospel to fully experience the joy offered through Christ's sacrifice.

The sermon text today will be John 16 verses 16 through 24, and I will be reading verses 16 through 24. A little while, and you will not see me, 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 they desired to ask him, and he said to them, Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, a little while, and you will not see me, and 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, and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into 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 to 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." Our God, I thank you for this text. I thank you God for your word.

I think that we're going to look at a brief part of your word, but such a wonderful part to try to mine. What a challenge it is to try to mine your perfect teaching. God help us to persevere. Help us to see your heart here. Father especially help us to see the joy that you have here offered for us.

Holy Spirit, please help us. Help your children here to speak and hear your truth, that our joy would be full. Amen. We're only hours before the arrest in the garden. And Jesus is using his final moments to prepare the disciples to be without his physical presence.

Jesus has been preparing them for the hatred of the world. Today we see He's preparing them for the great sorrow they're about to go through. And to help them prepare, He's told them of the Holy Spirit that's coming. That's to their advantage that He leaves, so the Holy Spirit come. So he's told to help them prepare for what's going to happen, the hatred and the immediate sorrow that's about to come.

It's all about the Holy Spirit coming. And today he's telling them about this permanent full joy that is theirs. It's going to be theirs in just a little while. Just a little while longer. Just a little bit of insight into the Lundquist family, especially when I preach, because I know what I'm going to say, I don't know what the other pastors are definitely going to say, I give my family two words.

I always give my family a couple words to be listening for during the sermon and they'll keep tally. I want them to keep tally. It's a way for them to pay attention but it's also usually some words I want them to be listening for because they're key. And so my children this morning will be keeping a tally of how often I say sorrow or lamenting or weeping, anything along that camp, and another pile of joy, joyful, rejoice. I'll be looking at that.

And I tell you that because my goal, I don't know if I will or not, but I really want there to be way more in the pile of joy this morning. I really do. There will be way more in that pile. We'll see what happens, but still. I'm going to talk a lot, especially the beginning of sorrow.

That's an emphasis here at the beginning. But we're going to get to the joy. There's going to be a lot of joy being spoken about. I've titled this Sorrow Turned into Everlasting Joy. And that word, turned, is important.

We'll get to it. It's not sorrow replaced with joy. It's sorrow turned into everlasting joy. Let's start looking at verses 16 through 19. Read those again.

A little while, and you will not see me. 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 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. He said to them, Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said? A little while and you will not see me. And again a little while and you will see me.

As we said before, what is so clear after the resurrection, and so clear to us because the Spirit has inspired men to write the Word of God and open our eyes to see and to believe this truth, was not anywhere as clear to the disciples. We're going to be very gracious to the disciples here. We know that it was very clear to them, especially those that wrote. We have John, we have Peter, we have James, especially those that wrote. And we have two little whiles here that are repeated in all four of these first few verses.

And yet to us it's very clear, to them not so much. And we'll see that they were actually confused. So this first little while, and you will not see me, That's Jesus dying and being in the tomb. They won't see him. He's going to die.

He's going to be in a tomb. And that's just a little while away. We're just hours away, a day-ish away from the crucifixion. If this is evening, then we're, depending on how far in the evening we are, we may be 12 hours or so from the crucifixion, 18 hours or so away from him being buried. A little while and you will not see me.

And then a little while and you will see me. So a little while, so little do they know, three days from now they will see him resurrected. He will appear to all of them in a room. We will get to that. So in a little while you will not see me.

A little while you will see me. The death, body sealed in a tomb, the resurrection of Jesus clear to us, but they were confused." It says here, they were confused, be gracious to them. But even saying that, this isn't the first time Jesus has used this language, is it? It's for being gracious to them, because we have complete clarity. But Jesus has been saying these kinds of things to them all along the way.

A few things to remind ourselves of. In John 7.33, then Jesus said to them, I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to him who sent me." Same language, a little while longer. In John 12, 35, a little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have light, lest darkness overtake you. And then John 14 verses 1 through 3, this is part of this discourse even, it says you can just turn over, you want to just turn over a page or two, whatever you have, John 14 verses 1 through 3, let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions, many rooms, many dwellings. 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 to myself that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know." So there he tells them, I'm going away, but in their mind, who knows exactly they're thinking what he's going to prepare. And he says, yeah, I'm going to come back after I've prepared, but what is this going away?

I won't see you, and then we will see you. This doesn't sound as joyful necessarily. This is troubling, this is confusing to them. And then John 14, 19, Jesus told them, a little while longer and the world will see me no more. But you will see me because I live, you live also." That's a little bit more to the point.

There's some living. What's this about living, not seeing me and living? Then in Mark 9, back in Mark 9, that is the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John go up to this mountain, see Jesus transfigured, and they see Moses and Elijah as well. Mark writes to us as they are coming down the mountain that Jesus commanded them, that's Peter, James, and John, that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

They're getting pieces here and there. And we don't know what else they were told, right? But Mark continues, so they kept this word to themselves questioning what the rising from the dead meant. They had all these questions and it makes sense that they had all these questions. We're going to be gracious to disciples.

They're confused. How long is a little while? Where are you going? When are you coming back? Why?

Here's something key in here. Who were they asking for clarity to their confusion? They're asking themselves. They have Jesus right there. They've asked Jesus a lot of questions.

Even back in 14, where I read about, in my father's house are many mansions, where I go you know the way you know. Thomas said to them, Lord, we do not know where you are going and how do we know the way? So we know they ask them questions, but here they're asking amongst themselves. And the way It reads in verses 18 and 19, it reads if they just keep asking. Just keep asking.

Keep asking. What is he talking about? What is he talking about? So here are these 11 disciples, and here's Jesus right there. They just keep whispering among themselves, asking among themselves.

They're not asking the ones that know the answer. They know they don't have the answer. They keep asking everyone, but Jesus, here's an application for you right here, for us. Do not let our lack of understanding keep us from asking, seeking, believing, and trusting Jesus. Don't let your lack of understanding keep you from asking, believing, and trusting Jesus.

Calvin says this, our duty is to endeavor that our slowness of apprehension, our slowness of understanding may not be accompanied by either pride or indolence, that's laziness, but that on the contrary we show ourselves to be humble and desirous to learn. Humble ourselves, our pride gets in our way of learning. The pride, I don't know if the disciples are prideful. I'm not calling them out for being prideful here. I do not know.

But for whatever reason, they didn't ask Jesus. The person they should have been going to the most for asking, not the other guys. And He's right there with them. There's only 12 of them. It's not like there's a big crowd.

There's only 12 people there. 11 disciples and Jesus. How much of our trouble, of our difficulty in understanding the Bible, is Because we don't pray, we don't ask God for more understanding. We're too prideful to ask for more light. That's what it comes down to.

We're just too prideful to ask for more light. As Calvin exhorts us to, be humble. Be humble. Ask Jesus. He's the way, the truth, and the life.

There's nothing wrong with asking me. And children, there's definitely nothing wrong with asking your children, asking your parents. Ask your parents. Ask your parents. God will give you light through your parents.

Your parents have seen a lot, done a lot. You know, in wisdom, they're the best parents for you. Ask them. But, be humble. Ask Jesus.

It is the way, the truth, and the life to teach us, to train us, to lead us, to guide us, to provide more understanding and wisdom. Then, keep on reading, keep on meditating, ask others, ask the books. That's fine, get their opinions. But Nobody's light is better. Nobody's understanding is better than God's.

And the Holy Spirit has inspired the Word of God for us. Now in verse 19, Jesus knows that they're confused. They're perplexed. They have this question. They're talking among themselves.

So how does he know this? Well, we know that he's God and he knows all things, but it probably didn't take Jesus' godliness, his divineness, to understand that they're perplexed and confused. There's only 12 people there. There's 11 disciples in Jesus. And they're there, they're walking, they're sitting, wherever they are.

And these eleven men are talking amongst themselves, asking and keep asking, what did he mean by this little while? What did he mean by that little while? What's going on? Jesus has been with them for three and a half years. Just like parents, you see a bunch of children around, it doesn't take you much to realize, hey, something's going on over there.

You can hear whispering as much, children, as you think you're quiet, you're not so quiet. You can hear the whispering, you can hear what's going on, you can eavesdrop. Jesus is God, He doesn't need to eavesdrop. They're right there. So they keep on asking.

Jesus does know them intimately and He asks them if they're asking about the little wiles. If they're asking about this. So Jesus, your good shepherd, knows this. He knows you. Your pride may get in the way of you praying.

Your pride may get in the way of really digging in and finding the answers and getting the help you need. But He knows you. He loves you. He has compassion on you. He wants to care for you.

He's your good shepherd. He hears you. Go to Him. Go to Him. You may have been wrestling with something for weeks.

Go to Him. You're not going to surprise Him. It's not as if He doesn't know. The Holy Spirit, if you are His, the Holy Spirit's within you, dwelling in each one of us. He knows every intimate part of you.

There's nothing you're hiding anyway. Go to him. Go to him. Prayer. Read through his word for help.

So we have a little while, and Jesus dies, is buried, and they will not see him. In a little while Jesus will be resurrected and they will see him. The next point, and this is where we will spend the bulk of our time, the Next point, verses 20 through 22. We have two contrasts here I want to bring out. You read these verses.

Most assuredly I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman when she is in labor has sorrow because her hour has come, but As soon as she has 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." As has happened in the past, Jesus doesn't answer their question, does He?

He acknowledges, I know what you're thinking, He acknowledges that He knows, that He understands He's not dismissing it, but He doesn't answer their question. Because he knows that's not really what they need right now. What they really need is not the answer to that question, but to prepare them for the sorrow to come by telling them of the great joy to come. And the joy that can be full. He starts out this section in verse 20, most assuredly, truly, truly, the two amens, amen, amen.

Take notice This is going to happen in a little while. So there's the first contrast here I want you to see is the disciples sorrow and the world rejoicing. The disciples sorrow and the world rejoicing. So the disciples sorrow. Jesus tells them here that they will weep, they will lament, and they will be sorrowful.

That is going to happen. In a little while, they will see him no more. But before he's buried, before they don't see him anymore, there's an arrest, there's a mock trial, there's a mob rule, there's beatings, there's torture, There's cross carrying, there's a crucifixion, there's wrath being poured out, sin bearing, death. There's horrific sorrow very, very near. Jesus is telling them, you will sorrow, you will lament, you will weep.

In Luke 23, as Luke records, that as Jesus has been beaten, he's been scourged, he's got the crown of thorns, and he's walking up carrying his cross to be crucified. And Luke tells us that a great multitude of the people followed Jesus and women who also mourned and lamented him. Great sorrow was coming. Great sorrow was coming. This lamenting, this word for lamenting in scripture is only used as lamenting caused by death.

It's the only way this word is used and it's described as a loud wailing. This is deep, great sorrow. The disciples have left everything to follow Jesus. Everything to Follow Jesus. The sorrow is building.

Imagine that building sorrow. We know it's starting to build. The building sorrow. And then everything that they're going to go through with each step, seeing Jesus arrested, what? He's being taken away.

This trial, what? Being sentenced to death, they're beating him? And then they realize at some point it's going to dawn on them, oh, he's going away. We won't see him because he's dying. He's being put to death.

It's going to dawn on him at some point what the teaching, what they were taught on the Mount of Transfiguration, what they were taught all along the way, it will Dawn on them. Sorrow is building. In Luke 23, also in Luke 23, when Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, and He comes back and finds them sleeping, we tend to give the disciples a hard time there. Listen to this on why the disciples were sleeping. It says that Jesus found them sleeping from sorrow.

Sorrow had already started building, just the thought that Jesus was going to leave them. Anybody, especially adults here, anybody that's been in great sorrow, you know it's exhausting. Sorrow, weeping, it can be exhausting. After a funeral, you've ever been to the home of somebody after a loved one has died, or a dear one has died, you've gone to their home, people ask, a rest. Because it's exhausting.

The sorrow is exhausting. And they had a lot more to go. They had a lot more to go. In Mark 16, yes, this is after the resurrection, when Mary Magdalene goes to tell about that Jesus is risen, it says that she went and told those who had been with Jesus as they mourned and wept. This is three days later.

She's going to the disciples. They're mourning and weeping. In Luke 24, this is also after the resurrection with Jesus on the road to the maus with those two people on that road that don't recognize them yet. Jesus says to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? They are sad.

They have been discussing what was going to go on, what had been going on in Jerusalem. They're even questioning Jesus, don't you know? Of course he knows, but they're sad. Jesus doesn't rebuke the disciples for their coming weeping. Actually, it's not just you will do this.

It's right to. It's definitely right to weep and lament and have sorrow for the death of Christ. We'll get to why that should bring us so much sorrow. In contrast to the disciples sorrow, we have the world will rejoice. Who's going to rejoice?

Who's part of that world rejoicing? We have the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the religious from chapter 16 from earlier in the chapter that thinking that this is done, this putting Jesus to death, is done out of service to God. We have the non-religious that only want self-government, as long as it only affects me. I don't want your rules. I can do whatever I want.

Children, by the way, that's a lie. Nothing only affects you. Everything affects somebody else. Everything does. Talk to your parents more about it.

But there's nothing that only affects you. Don't think that little sin that you're hiding, that you won't confess to, well it just affects me. Nobody knows about it. One God knows about it. Yes, it does deeply affect you, but it does affect somebody else.

It absolutely does. Who else will be rejoicing? The idol worshipers. They don't have to be faced with the exclusivity of Christ anymore. There's only one way truth and life.

The devil and the demons have got to be rejoicing. We don't know how much they knew. We don't know how much they knew, but they definitely didn't have the light we have. No way. They're not filled with the Holy Spirit.

Who knows how much they knew of what was going on. For all they knew, this was a win. For all they knew, this was a win. This was, in their mind, maybe not the crushing defeat prophesied in Genesis 3. These people are convinced Jesus is gone.

Never to trouble them or remind them of their sin, and will rejoice while disciples go through deep lamenting. You think about this, wow, that is pretty cold-hearted, what Jesus says about the world. Is this just kind of a hyperbole? No, it's not. It turned to Revelation 11.

I know this is future, but this gets us an idea. So in Revelation 11, God has sent these two witnesses to speak to the world. I don't know the time period, don't know when this happens, so I'm not here to get in any of that. But there are these two witnesses, these two prophets that God has sent. And starting in verse 7, it says this, When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, against these two witnesses, these prophets, overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days and not allow their dead bodies to be put into the graves. And those who dwell on earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another. Because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on earth." The world rejoicing over the death of Jesus, over the sorrow, is not hyperbole. I don't believe it all.

Here we have people that are giving gifts, making a holiday of the occasion, because their souls are not tormented anymore by the truth of God. The world will rejoice. This is the expectation we should expect of the world. They see you sin. They may rejoice because look at that.

It's not for me. Even they're stumbling. Good for them in some ways. They may not say it to your face, but inside, like, good for them. They deserve that.

Or, it's not really true. And I don't need to believe that Bible stuff. So that's the first contrast. The disciples' sorrow and the world rejoicing. The better contrast, the one I love to speak about now, is sorrow turned into everlasting joy.

Sorrow turned into everlasting joy. If the disciples only knew the immense joy God had for them. They only knew. And he gives us this illustration to help us in verse 21. 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." Now, this is a very real, very vivid illustration to get across key points. This isn't a parable, but it's still a very real illustration. Just get across a few key points. There's a lot that could be said here, a lot that I've tried to craft and say what needs to be said, but a lot that could be said about birth and what God has done and the thankfulness for ladies that would go through this. This is part of the curse.

This is language used throughout the Old Testament as well, talking about Israel and their trials coming through, like a woman in birth pains, the world groans. The very point here, bear with me, I'm going to try and get across here in a couple ways. Here's the key point, the very thing that brings sorrow is the same thing that brings joy. The very same thing that brings sorrow is the same thing that brings joy. In this illustration, that's a baby.

The baby is bringing sorrow, bringing pain. Pain is part of the curse and child bearing. No idea what it would have meant to not have pain and child bearing, but it was part of the curse. So that child you prayed for, it's not the child you've prayed for, you've longed for, that we pray, we pray for comfort when a woman's in labor, we pray for comfort, we pray for peace, we pray for fast delivery, we pray for no pain, the pain's gonna be there. That same child that is causing the pain in the process of being born is the same child that brings joy.

Much relief and much joy when born. The same thing that brings sorrow is the same thing that brings joy. It's not two different children. It's not This is a child of pain, this is a child of joy, it's the same child. What God is trying to teach us is the same thing.

Mothers, you know this, right? You know this, I've had the privilege to witness this a few times, of this sorrow, the helplessness of a husband trying to comfort a wife. The world means that much different than I just meant that. You just feel helpless as a husband as you're trying to care for your wife in many ways. You're just like, I can't do anything about it.

But I will comfort and speak words. But when that baby's born, ladies, you know that relief and the joy when you hold that baby in your arms that is there. And the sorrow, yes, it's a memory. It's a memory in many ways. So it's not that sorrow is replaced by joy, but the source of sorrow becomes the source of joy.

So let me apply this to this little while. You will have sorrow and then you will have joy. The disciples will see that the death which caused them so much sorrow is the same death that will provide joy. It's The death that provides so much sorrow, so much weeping, so much lamenting, is the death that brings us joy. There's no joy without the death.

There's no joy without the sorrow. There's no good news without the bad news. The sorrowful death of Jesus, taken on the wrath of God, and dying is the very event that gives us salvation, gives us new birth, gives us joy. As a mother holds a child after labor, they will know the little while of sorrow is over when they see Jesus. He tells them that in verse 22, and the sorrow is turned, is transformed into joy.

Not replaced. It's transformed. We'll have the Lord's Supper later. We are called to remember the Lord's death till He returns. Not to forget that.

Because that death, as sorrowful it is, and it's especially sorrowful because why it had to happen for us to be saved, how wicked and abominable our sin is, as Ryle says. That had to happen. That should bring great sorrow and remembrance, but great joy, because without that, we have no hope. Only eternal hell. We sang this.

We sang this in where is room. Where is room for the doubt and the guilt and the toil and the pride and none because it's filled with joy now because Jesus, the Father's wrath removed, it is finished, he died, he was degraded, he was ridiculed and thrown away, He's taken our punishment, he's paid our ransom, every debt has been erased. That sorrow, the man of sorrows took on that we may have permanent joy everlasting. That joy, That permanent joy that Jesus is talking about that no one can take from you, that can be full we'll get to in a little bit, is tied to salvation. It's not tied to our circumstances.

The Holy Spirit, He talked about that will come and indwell His people. He'll give them fruit of love and joy. This is everlasting joy because if joy was wrapped up in our jobs, In our possessions, if joy is wrapped up in your wife, in your husband, how about this kind of permanent joy? Have joy in your wife or husband. I'm talking about this kind of permanent joy that Jesus is talking about.

If it's wrapped up in your children, in your abilities, in your vacations, in your completed checklist, vacations and circumstances, all that can be taken away. Ask Job. Ask your own life story of how much of that has been taken away. You're like, boy, I'm on a mountaintop. It can't get any better than this.

But it can get worse. Whatever that was, it may have been great, and it's great memories. We love the great memories. We love it. It can be taken away, but this joy that came through the sorrow, the death of Jesus Christ, produces joy in his children because we have been saved from God's wrath.

We can have eternal joy. No one can take that away. No one. Let's have our last turn to Psalm 13. I just want to go through a few verses here.

A few passages. Start in Psalm 13. We'll be in Psalm 30 and Isaiah 61. Psalm 13, David starts out with, how long, O Lord, you can hear the disciples, in a little while, how long is that little while, How long is our sorrow going to be? How long will the world rejoice over us?

How long will they hate us? How long, O Lord, will you forgive me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul? This is right that he's asking the Lord these things, not hiding them.

He's asking. This is right. Having sorrow in my heart daily, how long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes.

Lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him, lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved, but I have trusted in your mercy. And my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. There's his foundation of how long. How long will the nations rage? How long will they trouble me?

My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me. Even in the midst of all of David's struggles, his enemies wanting to kill him all around, family wanting to kill him, the Lord has done bountifully with me because that's tied to Salvation. That is bountiful care. Psalm 30.

Turn over to Psalm 30. I read it in the call to worship, just a couple verses to come out from here. Sorry, verse 4, 4 and 5. Sing praises to the Lord, you saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, for a while, his favor is for life.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." He's not saying that weeping only happens for a short period. We know that weeping and sorrow can happen for long periods of time. But what the psalmist is really getting at is, yes, life is a vapor. These are momentary afflictions. But joy in the Lord's salvation, his favor is for life for all eternity.

In verse 11 and 12, you have turned for me, you have turned for me. I have nothing to do with it. We have nothing to do with our salvation. The Lord turns our sorrow into joy. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing.

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. To the end that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever." And forever is literal. You are His. You will be with Him forever and thanking Him forever.

Forever and thanking him forever. Isaiah 61, turn to Isaiah 61. I want to read verses 1 through 3. There are so many places in Isaiah that are applicable here, Especially with this illustration that Jesus gave us. I want to read 61 verses 1 through 3.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me, now this is prophetic, he has sent Jesus, this is about the Messiah, he has sent Jesus, he has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified. How do you go from the sorrow that this death, this death required in order to save people? How do you over... The Lord did the work.

He died the death that we deserve, that we may have the joy we don't deserve. It all comes from the Lord. But it is sorrowful that that had to happen. It's how awful our sin is. So awful that only God, only God, our sin is so abominable, but only God has the power and the ability and the mercy and the grace and as judge the ability to forgive sins to save and redeem a people only him and only he could do this and Jesus tells the disciples at this death you're going to go through is going to be done that you may have eternal joy.

That no one can take away. Their sorrow will be turned into joy. He wants our lives to be full of unending joy no matter the circumstance. Well, how is this possible? How is this possible?

The disciples still had sorrow later on. How can you have unending joy? You live, you know, don't take too long to live in this world and you see the sorrow. Josh mentioned the news. You just have to look at the news.

But adults here that have lived a few years, you know sorrow. Death of family, children, death of friends, people that disappoint, huge disappoints, tragedy will come, there's wars, there's disease, there's effects of sin on the world. The only way this is true is because it's tied to salvation. Our hope to preserve in a fallen world is the joy the Lord provided through His death, salvation by grace alone. And Jesus used this himself.

In Hebrews 12, Jesus used this to help his sorrow. He wept over Jerusalem. He wept over people about what had to happen in order for them to be saved. He wept over them, but they don't see that the light was right in front of them. The writer of Hebrews tells us who?

For the joy that was set before him had set before Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus had this out there as well. He wasn't just teaching the disciples and teaching us. This is how He lived. He is our example. We will fail at keeping our eyes on the joy.

We will fail. We will sin. We will doubt. We will sorrow and lament, and not a godly sorrow, but maybe in a worldly sorrow. Because we don't have our eye on the joy that Christ has given us.

There's no room for that guilt and that shame anymore. But Here's what you need to know, brethren. Jesus paid for that sin by living that joy perfectly as well. He knew the joy that was before Him, so He suffered the cross for that joy that was before Him to save a bride, to please the Father, to be the perfect acceptable sacrifice. He paid for that sin of lack of joy as well, because he lived it perfectly through the deep sorrow, sorrow of the cross, being estranged from God and dying.

The very death that brought so much sorrow is the very death that brings life and eternal joy. Please turn to Luke 10. I just want to keep bearing down on this. This is the heart of the matter here. I just want to keep bearing down.

I know we have to move on here a little bit, but I want to help us. In chapter 10, Jesus has sent out 70 disciples, two by two, to go out, do all kinds of things. And starting in verse 17, these disciples, these 70 have come back to give them a report of what's happened. Jesus has a rebuke for them because they have misplaced joy, but tells them where their joy should be. So in verse 17 through 20, then the seventy returned with joy.

Do you remember this misplaced joy at this point? Saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. They are joyous in what they were able to do. Look what we were able to do. You sent us out.

Look at what we did. They are subject to us. And Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, these circumstances, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

That is the source of our rejoice. That is the source of our joy. Not the circumstance. I want you to have good circumstances. I want good circumstances.

I want a peaceful, prosper life. We don't like the thoughts of people dying around us in disease and war. We want good memories of vacation. We want checklists checked off. But that's not your source of joy.

Your source of joy is that because of the death of Christ, His death is perfect, acceptable, substitutionary sacrifice on our place, taking the wrath that we deserve, dying the death we deserve, and rising from the dead for all that repent and believe in Christ alone for salvation. Your names are written in heaven in the Lamb's book of life for joy and eternity. That is where our eyes are to be. You have this salvation that no one can snatch from you. We studied that in John 10.

Since no one can take your salvation, Jesus says here no one can take your joy away. It's true because no one can take your salvation because they are tied together. Sorrow of the cross becomes permanent joy and eternal life. It did. We'll get to it.

But did their sorrow turn into joy in a little while? Did that happen? If you want to, you can just flip over to John 20. John 20 verse 20. This is Jesus coming to the apostles and he says, when he had said this, or 20, yeah, 2020, and when he had said this, Jesus, He showed them his hands and his side, then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." Now our translators, I firmly believe, did a complete disservice here with the word glad.

Glad loses a lot of punch here. The NIV says overjoyed. NSB says rejoiced. This word really means rejoiced exceedingly. In the New Testament, this word is translated 74 times.

It's used 74 times. And of those, 42 are used for rejoice. Then the disciples rejoiced exceedingly when they saw the Lord. In Matthew 10, there's a couple other places to help us with this word. This word that he is glad that I think should be rejoiced exceedingly.

In Matthew 2 when the wise men come from the east are going to see Jesus it says this, the same word here, when they saw the star they rejoiced with Rejoiced with exceeding great joy. The same words there. In Revelation 19, 7, it says this. It says this. Let us be glad.

That's the same word. I mean, sorry. Let us be glad and rejoice. Those are two separate words. Glad and rejoice.

The word rejoice here is the word for glad that I just had back there in John 20. So let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. You think the marriage supper of the Lamb is just, oh we're glad? It's rejoicing. It's glad and rejoicing.

The disciples after a little while and they saw Jesus, they were exceedingly joyful. Yes, and we will get to there. That's a taste of what's coming. So those are the two contrasts. You have the contrast of the disciples and the world rejoicing and sorrow turned into everlasting joy.

Let's look at verses 23 and 24. 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." Their normal to this point has been talking with Jesus and praying to the Father.

The normal has been that the high priest enters the temple and prays on their behalf, that they bring sacrifices to the temple, and the priest sacrifices them on their behalf for their sin, sin offerings, trespass offerings. But that's been their normal. Well, all this is changing. In that day, after his death, in a little while, the temple veil will be torn in two. The sacrificial system is over because the Lamb of God has been sacrificed to take away the sins.

All the shadows and the tides will be fulfilled in Christ. That is over and we now pray to the Father in Jesus' name. No more intermediary for sacrificing that we have Jesus the Mediary. Now this is not a formula. Let's talk about in Jesus' name.

This is not a formula. It's not something to tack on the end of a prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. But it's fine to say, don't get caught up on whether to say it or not. As I've been looking at this, thinking about this the last several weeks, I have caught myself in my prayers at home and dinner table with others.

Just, am I saying Jesus name? Do I not? And it's just been, don't get caught up in that. It'll drive you crazy. Just pray.

But this is what this means. It's really what it means. It's not talking at all about verbal. You can still say in Jesus' name. That's really not what it's talking about.

It's talking about we are to pray in line with Jesus' will, His objectives, asking for things that will honor and glorify Jesus. In the heart of the matter that Jesus says here is we are to pray and ask and ask and ask that your joy may be full. See prayer leads to full joy which Jesus wants to teach us here. Prayer can lead to full joy. So how does that happen?

That there's full joy, this joy that's filled up, that's filled to the top, that you're not wanting anymore, needing anymore, how does praying to the Father in Jesus' name help your joy be full? A couple thoughts. When praying in Jesus' name, praying according to His will, not necessarily the words, but using His name and thinking on Jesus, You are reminding yourself of the work, the mercy, and the grace of Christ to save you. The man of sorrows, what he went through, that your joy would be full. That you would have everlasting joy.

When you are praying and asking for help through a deep sorrow, trial, heartache, praying in Jesus' name reminds us of this man of sorrows that is acquainted with grief that bore our sin, taking the wrath of God to save us. He's been with us. He knows our sorrows. He knows our griefs. He's acquainted with that.

Our great high priest praying according to his will in Jesus' name reminds us when asking God to save people, in Jesus' name you are remind yourself that Jesus is a lamb who takes away the sin of the world on all who repent and believe. He will be saved and your joy is filled up when you are thinking of this will of Christ that He would save people, go through this sorrow that you would have joy. Seeing prayer answered fills our joys. God hears. God helps.

God cares. God knows us. The joy Jesus has for you is one that demonstrates the world where your hope is. Christians are to be marked by this joy. It is evidenced in our prayers.

And our prayers build up more joy. Exposers Bible commentary is this way. Joy is the inevitable consequence of contact with God. It is a dead giveaway that we belong to Him. Now, can you pray and still not be a Christian?

Yes, you can still fool people. It's a different type of prayer, though. You can still fool people. But it is a dead giveaway that we belong to them. Life may have its full measure of pleasant experiences, but only the presence of God can meet the deepest needs of the human heart and result in a joy that, like the peace of God, transcends all understanding." Now, prayer produces joy.

Prayer helps our joy be full. Think about this. Of all the spiritual disciplines, of all the Christian disciplines, I believe that prayer is the easiest of them. I believe it is. But it's the least, it's the one we use the least probably.

Prayer is much easier than a Bible reading plan. I have to get out my Bible, where am I in my reading plan, spend time, think about it. All I had to do is pray, is get up this morning, I sat down in a chair and I prayed. I didn't even have to do that. I could just open my eyes and pray.

Prayer is much easier than coming to church, much easier than fellowshipping. Jesus says that praying in His name, by praying in His name, praying and asking and seeking our joy will be filled. Go back to Hebrews if you went there. I want to talk about bold prayers. I want to talk about this.

I want to land this here. Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4 verses 14 through 16. It says, See then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our confession For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." When we think of bold prayers, we read that a lot that gets read often, but when we think of bold prayers we tend to think of these just these brutally honest prayers and bringing everything to God.

Although that's true, I don't think that's the boldness now. When tied to what Jesus is saying today, how much bolder could your prayer possibly be than bringing the name of Christ upon your prayers. How much bolder could you be than to say in Jesus' name, I'm not saying you have to say it out loud, but inwardly you're saying because of Jesus, by His power, by His grace, by His mercy, by His will, I know He desires to save people, I know He desires to comfort people, I know He wants His name to be praised, I know He wants God to be glorified. God, on the authority of Jesus and what He desires for his children, for the world, for his glory. I am praying this prayer.

That's a pretty bold prayer. Or you think just children, if you go to one of your brothers and sisters and say, I'm coming to you on the authority of my parents, of dad saying that we can do this. That's pretty big authority, right? You're using your parents' name like that. The president, if I came to say, I've got a letter from the president that says I can do this, that's pretty good authority.

There's Nothing bolder than coming with the authority of Jesus Christ. That is a bold prayer. Be careful. Be careful of taking His name in vain in our prayers. Be very careful.

When you see this, this boldness that we can have before the throne of God. But this boldness that brings joy, brings joy. We can come with these bold prayers. We can come before God that hears us and cares for us and wants to comfort us and wants our joy filled up because of Christ. And so I'm coming under the authority of Christ, under His death, His resurrection.

There's no more room for doubt, for guilt. There's no more room for shame. No more room for any of this. I don't have to do any more work because Christ, you have done it. And because of this, my joy is going to be full, because I'm going to pray for these things.

Prayer meaning, still pray in the name of Jesus. Here, still praying. Your household, still pray. But Understand the boldness that you're having there. Understand it.

Understand whose authority you're putting behind your prayers in front of God. And don't take His name lightly. Still weeping your prayers, still lamenting your prayers, still be brutally honest in your prayers. Pray and pray till you pray. That's part of that boldness of what's going on here.

For me, this is finally being completely honest, humbling myself, admitting my ignorance and my Confessing my sin and repenting and finally saying, God, who am I kidding? I come before you and I only come before you because I've been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. I don't deserve to be able to come before you. I don't deserve to have this mediator, but I am. And here's what's going on.

And you know it. I'm going to pray this. And the God that cares for my joy, so much cares for my joy that he would send his only begotten son to die. I'm bringing this to you. Because you care for my joy.

Hey, in this prayer for joy, look for God's answers. You'll hear songs on the radio especially. There's cute little songs about when God answers prayers or this or that. God answers every prayer. Do you believe God is sovereign or not?

He answers every prayer. Maybe not like the way, I think it's the song of John Newton that we sing about prayer. Maybe not in the way you expect because it might drive you to despair. But He answers every prayer. You're His child, the Holy Spirit is indwelling you, He answers every prayer.

He really does for you. It may not be in the way you're looking, but look for it. Look for how He answers it and may your joy be full. All right. Three applications.

One, it's a relatively easy one, it'll take you about an hour-ish to do. I want you to go back to December 25th, 2016 and listen to the sermon that I preached on that day on joy. Go listen to it. There's very little that I pulled from that for this. So you're not going to be listening to this again.

But go listen to that on joy. It's more thought out. It's a perfect sermon on joy, but there's one. One thing you can do on learning more about joy. Number two.

We know that the disciples' sorrow turned into joy. Here's a question for you. What did the world's rejoicing turn into? What happens to that rejoicing world? Children, I want you to pay attention to this.

I want you to just look up and listen. Especially children, especially anybody that hasn't repented and believed in Christ alone for salvation. Listen to this, because this is the camp you're in, whether you want to admit it or not. Could be you, adult in the room, older person in the room, could be a husband or wife in the room. Luke 6, Jesus is pronouncing woes.

He says this. This is what happens to the world's rejoicing. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Disciples' sorrow gets turned into joy. The world's rejoicing gets turned into sorrow.

It's the same thing. What brought them so much rejoicing is the same thing that brings them so much sorrow. Their sin, their selfishness, their pride, and what they thought was right. For everyone that did not repent and believe the gospel, the rejoicing turned into mourning and weeping and eternal sorrow. All those people that were rejoicing over the death of Christ, those people in Revelation 11 that will rejoice at the death of those men, will be turned into eternal sorrow.

They wanted their sin and happy for Jesus to be gone. They don't want to be governed by God. They don't want to be reminded that Jesus is Lord, God, the Lamb, the Creator, the Judge. Jesus spoke of hell more than anybody else in Scripture. Is this you?

Is this you? Are you here only to look good for your spouse? Your friends, your brother, your sister, your family, which are so happy to get away from here because you're not confronted with the truth of the scripture. You wouldn't dare admit it. There's nobody here that I believe would dare admit that that's them.

But if you have not repented and believe in Christ alone for salvation, what am I to think? Really, what am I to think? I could be wrong, but what am I to think? But that inwardly you're not really rejoicing. You don't have to be part of this, you're rejoicing when family worship is done.

You're rejoicing when Bible time and your schoolwork is done. You do not like being faced with the truth of scripture. You're really laughing. Unless you repent, the words of Christ are true. You will weep and mourn for all of eternity in hell.

Do not play with sin. Sin is horrible. So horrible that it brought the wrath of God upon Christ for people to be saved. Only those who repent and believe Him will be saved. Jesus became that man of sorrows.

And that doesn't have to be you. May the Holy Spirit convict you this morning. May you have sorrow over your sin and weep and may He Turn that into joy because you now have the light. The Holy Spirit would draw you to Himself and show you that there is joy to be had. Because Jesus' death can bring you life.

He can give you beauty for your ashes, Life for death. And you can know this joy that's being spoken of here. The joy that gave the disciples so much hope. The joy that gives us so much hope. Know this joy.

Number three. Lastly, pile up the joy now. Pile it up. Jesus told us to pile it up through prayer. Pile it up.

Don't wait for the sorrows and the trials and the difficulties to look for joy. By God's grace you will find it then, because he's kind, he's gracious, he's merciful. But pile it up now, remind yourself now of his death, the such sorrowful death and the reason for death. Then remind yourself of that joy. We're going to have a great opportunity here in the Lord's Supper to remind ourselves of the death and the joy we got from the very same event.

This joy is only found from knowing the gospel inside and out, and we will never plumb the depths of His mercy and grace of the gospel. This is not the first time, it's not the last time Jesus will speak about joy in this discourse. In John 15, 11, he said, These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." And in John 17, in his prayer, 17 verse 13 says, But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world. So he's coming to the Father, not to us, to the Father as he prays. But now I come to you, the Father, God, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves." Jesus prayed for your joy.

And he did the work on the cross that you would have that joy. I'm going to end the quote by Octavius Winslow. I've quoted him before. I think I've even done this quote before a while back. He was an Anglican during the time of J.C.

Ryle in the 1800s. And I say this because I want you to see these contrasts as a summary. He has great contrast here. I think they're a good summary to this text. He's really writing this as a commentary on part of 1 John.

But, here in his love, as though John would say, and nowhere else but here, that God should punish the innocent for the guilty. That God should exact the blood of his son to counsel the guilt of his rebels. That God should lay an infinite weight of wrath on Jesus' soul in order to lay an infinite weight of love on ours. That God should sacrifice Jesus' life of priceless value for ours, a worthless, forfeited, and doomed. That God should not only give His Son, but should bruise Him, put Him to grief, afflict Him, should make His soul an offering for sin, that the Lord of glory should become a man of sorrows the Lord of life should die and the heir of all things should be as him that serves oh depth of love unfathomable oh height of love unsearchable oh length and breadth of love unmeasurable.

Let's pray. Our great God, Thank you. Thank you for the death of Christ. Thank you Christ for your sufferings, your sorrow, Even the sorrow the disciples had to go through. Because from that we have joy.

Thank you for the joy you give. The life giving joy. The joy of knowing we have been forgiven. The joy of knowing that we will only know the love and the delight of God. The joy of knowing your care.

The joy of knowing eternal life. Thank you for keeping this joy. Thank you for praying for our joy. Thank you for ordering things for our joy. So help us build up more joy.

Help us be filled with joy. Help us God in our sufferings and our trials. God help us. Thank you for going through more than we would ever go through, that you would know our grief. You'd be acquainted with them and you can help us with joy.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your fruit of joy. Amen. Amen.