Walking with Jesus through Sorrow, Pain, and Joy
What a friend we have in Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Last week we saw that in getting to know Jesus the more we know Him the deeper our friendship and stronger the familial bond to Him.
Also as we develop a deeper relationship with Him we gain a deeper understanding of what Jesus did for us.
Today we take another look at our key passage Proverbs 18:24
24 A person of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Are you ready for the message God has for us today?
Cool let’s dig in!
Maybe some of us have friends and family that we turn to when difficulties arise. For myself I can honestly say I have and they have walked with me through some very dark times.
These are the ones that don’t desert you when troubles, sorrows, or conflict arise.
These are the friends who are there when you need them the most.
That is the kind of friend and brother that Jesus wants to be for us.
Consider the phrase in the proverb “sticks closer than a brother.”
That phrase is saying that Jesus will cling to us, be spiritually glued to us.
Remaining in close relation by being faithful and steadfast.
It is also walking the way Jesus walked - chair bible pg. 820 1 John 2:4-6
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.
That is what walking with Jesus is like.
Walking through Sorrow and Pain
Walking through Sorrow and Pain
When we walk with Jesus we learn something.
Jesus knows about sorrow pain and grief.
3 He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.
4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated.
For verse three the ESV has “man of sorrows, familiar with sickness...”
Jesus grieved with people - John 11:32-35
32 So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,
34 and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
There different ways to see the phrase “deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.”
Some see anger.
Some see distress that the mourners even his dear friends did not understand what he came to do about death.
It could also show that Jesus was identifying with His friends, feeling their grief, gathering their pain into himself.
I think there is a little of all of this in what was going through Jesus.
I see Jesus connecting with them in their grief and this led to “Jesus wept.”
Remember he is a man of sorrows and associated with grief.
Consider what is said of Jesus in Hebrews 4:15
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
He understands and wants to walk with us during the times of our sorrow and pain.
Jesus suffered great emotional pain in his death - Matthew :27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “eli, eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus never leaves our side. There is nowhere away from His presence.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
Jesus will walk with us through all of our pain and sorrow, side by side with us staying closer than a truest friend or dearest family.
Jesus is intimately associated with human emotional pain and agony.
39 And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.
40 Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you do not come into temptation.”
41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
44 And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,
46 and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you do not come into temptation.”
What was grieving Jesus and causing this great agony?
Leaving His friends
Knowing what they would suffer
Knowing what He himself would soon suffer
Being rejected by the very people he came to save
Knowing the would be a moment where he would be disconnected from His father because of the sins of others.
Maybe all of these and more, just my thoughts
Jesus knows and does not want us to walk through pain and sorrow alone.
He wants us to take His hand so we can walk together.
Give Him the burden of grief and sorrow - 1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.
Walking through joy
Walking through joy
You wouldn’t think this would be hard, yet this is where so many don’t remember Jesus is walking with them.
Jesus wants to walk with us through times of joy just as much and times of sorrow and pain.
Maybe you have heard of the show The Chosen!
One thing I enjoy is seeing Jesus smile, laugh , and having fun!
Making toys for children!
Do we honestly think Jesus as serious 24/7?
Don’t get me wrong Jesus was serious.
I know there is no passage that expressly states that Jesus laughed.
But I think he did enjoy life, smile and laugh with people
Yet I think there are passages where I can’t help but see it!
15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
Can’t you see a smile and laugh as Jesus took children in His arms
34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Here the accusation against Jesus also implies, “You’re having too much fun to be the “Son of Man!”
15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Ever go to wedding mourning?
I really do think Jesus used humor.
3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!
Don’t you chuckle a little?
24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Smile and chuckle at the image!
21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Even in the beattitudes!
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Joy is even part of heaven!
Notice the joy in all these passages!
Walking with Jesus means sharing in the joys of life with Him!
I think Jesus wants to share in our joy, He wants a smile on His face too!
Remember the joy on His face when we come into His presence, His joy shines on us!
24 ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you.
25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’
We are not alone even in times of Joy!
Conclusion:
When we think of walking with Jesus through sorrow, pain, and joy is to remember that Jesus is not just our friend and brother, but is also The Shepherd
Psalm 23:4
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
In our darkest time Jesus wants to walk with us, in fact He would rather guide us through it, He knows the way out.
This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out.
"A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on."
Then a pastor comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Pastor, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The pastor writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.”
"Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'"
I am reminded of Isaiah 50:10
10 Who is among you who fears the Lord, Who obeys the voice of His servant, Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
It isn’t just in darkness but also in time of light, times of Joy, he wants to share in the joy with us!
You see Jesus wants to walk with us through life because He knows the way!
What a friend we have in Jesus!