The Cure for A Troubled Heart - An Overcoming God

If I had not felt certain that every trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings. Adoniram Judson

In this life, we will have trouble, we will have trials, we will have adversity. We we will face opposition.

But we can rest assured, that we serve a God who has overcome.

TODAY we will finish chapter 16 with understanding that we have a cure for our troubled hearts because we have an overcoming God.

We will see three ways in which God overcomes

Ignorance and Unbelief

Sorrow

The world

Sermon Body

Big Idea: We have a cure for our troubled hearts because we serve an overcoming God.

God Overcomes Ignorance and Unbelief - John 16:4-15.

John 16:4–15 ESV

4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus begins by pointing out that the things he says now, he is saying because his time is short, the time of his death is near.

He has refrained from saying these things before now because he was with them and there was not a need to speak them. He says them now, because now is the proper time to speak them.

Over the past three years, he has been discipling and grooming this men for this very hour. Now is the time that they must hear these things.

God does all things in His perfect timing. He reveals truth and makes known His will when He determines it to be right. While we wait, He is shaping us into replicas of Himself and prepares us what He has determined.

Jesus will go on to rebuke them. He says, “I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, “Where are you going?”

Now Peter had asked the question back in 13:36 and Thomas had voiced a similar question in 14:5. However, their questions, (as is illustrated by Jesus’ words here) reflect a SELFISH motive and focus rather than one that was centered on Jesus.

Their concern should have been for Jesus…

Comfort for the coming suffering death…

and/or rejoicing that his job was about to be finished and that he got to home back to His Father.

Rather, their focus was on themselves. Jesus here, rebukes them for their focus.

How easy is this for us to fall prey to as well? We have a propensity to make all things about ourselves, as the disciples do here.

Christlike love will “unselfishly choose for another’s highest good.” Christlike love and humility will not seek to make things all about us but will reach towards others with compassion and grace.

The disciples failed to reach towards Jesus in this moment because their fear and anxiety took center stage. And when we allow fear and anxiety to rule, self will also be ruling our lives.

He reminds them, however, that His going away is actually to their benefit. For his going away means that the Helper, the Holy Spirit can come.

And when the Holy Spirit comes, he will do two primary things. He will convict and he will guide/teach truth.

We have previously spoken about the role of the Holy Spirit and we flashed forward to these couple of verses, but I want to highlight them again in terms of these two roles that the Spirit plays.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin.

This is the HS’s role towards unbelievers.

Were it not for the Spirit’s convicting, no one would get saved. He is the agent by which men come to know of their guilt and agree with God that it is wrong, and turn from it in repentance.

FOR THIS REASON, though the word CONVICT often has a negative connotation, it is really a positive. It’s intention is ALWAYS to draw to repentance and change.

Convict means…

Refute, expose, lay bare, reprove, rebuke, discipline, chastise

It means to reveal guilt WITH INTENT to restore and reconcile

Conviction is a gracious act, leading men to repent.

Christ came to SAVE MEN from their sin. He came to EXPOSE sin and reveal the way to be saved from it.

What He began, the Spirit will continue after his departure.

The Spirit will convict of world of sin.

He will also convict the world of righteousness.

Meaning…The Spirit will declare the standard of right. He will convict, expose, reveal that which is right and true.

This will often stand in direct contrast to man’s standard of righteousness.

In other words, God will convict men that their standard of right is wrong and will show them the right standard.

In truth, this is the flip side of convicting of sin. Showing the wrong is only part of what is necessary. Showing the RIGHT way completes the process of conviction. Without both sides, it would be incomplete.

He will also convict the world of judgement.

Convict – Same as before

Judgment – distinction, discrimination, judgment, decision, award; used in judicial process, trial, legal matters, etc. Administration of justice, what is right, good, fair, and just rewards or consequences for actions.

In like manner to the conviction of the worlds false righteousness, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of their immoral, impure judgment; their unrighteous judgment.

E.G. – legalizing of abortion; same sex marriage; making divorce easier;

The ruler of this world already stands condemned and judged.

He is the standard by which the world judges.

If he stands judged and condemned, and he is the standard for the world, what does that say?

Holy Spirit reveals the perverse and immoral judgments of the world; he convicts those.

God convicts the world, through the Spirit, of their sin of unbelief, their sin of self-righteousness, and their sin of worldly judgement.

There are only two possible responses to this conviction: Repentance OR Rejection. Either they will repent and believe and find salvation OR they will reject it and His righteous and holy wrath will remain on them.

BUT for those who repent, the Spirit’s conviction overcomes ignorance and unbelief and grants eternal life to them.

God provides the cure for a troubled heart by overcoming ignorance and unbelief in those who repent and believe.

The Holy Spirit also leads his children into truth.

John 16:12–15 ESV

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

There is more that Jesus needs to say, but he knows that they are tapped out with what they can bear and endure.

BUT also, they were not able to fully understand everything yet. The cross had not happened. Until after His death, burial, and resurrection, the meaning of the gospel, the meaning of Jesus’ words, the full understanding of all that Jesus had spoken to them, was still lost on them. They were not ready yet, they could not understand it yet.

HOWEVER, the Spirit will guide them into truth.

The primary meaning of this is to the NT apostles and writers.

However, secondarily, it can refer to the Spirit’s work of illumination.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16.

1 Corinthians 2:10–16 ESV

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The Spirit has a hand in revealing, granting understanding, and enlightening our hearts with truth.

This, of course, does NOT remove the need for us to study, to examine, to use discernment, to rightly and accurately handle the word of God.

But it does mean that when understanding dawns on us, the Spirit has a hand in that enlightenment.

Like Jesus, who speaks on the authority of His Father, the Spirit will do the same.

The Spirit’s purpose/focus will be to bring glory to the Son, to Jesus.

God Overcomes Sorrow - John 16:16-24.

John 16:16–24 ESV

16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said 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 am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 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. 21 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. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 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. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Jesus once more speaks of his going away, a reality that they still have failed to fully comprehend and grasp, and so his mentioning it again, sparks quite the confusion and discussion amongst the disciples.

What does he mean?

What is a little while?

We don’t know what he is talking about.

Jesus response is like, “Really? This is what you are most concerned about right now? This is what you are asking yourselves?

Then he proceeds to tell them.

You WILL weep and lament and mourn. Sorrow IS coming.

While you do, the world will rejoice. They will be celebrating as if some great feat was accomplished. And for them, they are.

Notice the dichotomy between what the world rejoices at and what we rejoice at? Notice what the world sorrows at and what we sorrow at? Are they the same? Not often, no. And where they do overlap, TRUTH will always be found there, truth that the world has not yet rejected and still manages to cling to. But I can tell you, that common ground is RAPIDLY disappearing.

You will SORROW, Jesus says. BUT your sorrow will be turned into Joy!

Like a woman in child birth…the pain is REAL and HARD…BUT the end result wipes away all consideration of the pain for the joy that results…Enough so, that many woman REPEAT the pain and willingly endure it.

You will know sorrow, I will leave…BUT you will see me again. And when I see you again, your hearts WILL rejoice.

Obviously this specific situation does not apply to us. We are not the disciples and we have not seen Jesus in person. And we will not see in person “again.”

BUT, scripture speaks to same reality of OUR sorrow being converted to Joy.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5.

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 ESV

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

James 1:2-4.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 1:3-9.

1 Peter 1:3–9 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 4:12-14.

1 Peter 4:12–14 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

In each of these instances we see sorrow THAT WILL RESULT IN JOY. All that is required of us is to ENDURE, to remain steadfast.

All that is required is that stand fast in our faith and obedience and look forward with hope to when all our sorrowing will be turned to joy.

For a follower of Christ, even our sorrows will result in strengthening our eternal joy.

Even our sorrows will (or are) a reason for rejoicing.

One day, sorrows will be erased and all that will remain will be joy.

Revelation 21:1-4.

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Joy IS THE state for His people. Sorrow is temporary.

In fact, Jesus says, “no one will take your joy from you.” When we are abiding in Christ, when we are abiding in the vine, NOTHING can remove us from our source of joy. No matter how hard they try, no matter what they may do to us, our joy will remain.

THIS is a concept the world cannot begin to fathom.

Consider the world for a moment. Will their sorrow be turned to joy? No. It will result in more sorrow.

Consider their “joy.” Will it endure? No. It will be converted to sorrow.

WE ARE THE ONLY ONES who can claim that our sorrow will be turned to joy, that our sorrow will not end in sorrow, but will end in joy eternal.

The world cannot boast this.

Their sorrows will remain and strengthen.

Once more, Jesus asserts to his disciples that if they ask anything in his name, it will be given. This is the third time he asserts it. This only goes to show how important it is.

Remember, this assertion is not some magic formula to get whatever you want, but it is a prayer which aligns with God’s person, His will, His desire, his passions. When we resonate with His heart, we will ask what he desire because it will be what we desire.

And in the days to come, they will do what they have never even considered doing, using his name, his authority to make those requests.

The nature of their relationship with Jesus is changing, for the better, but in the days ahead they, and we, will invoke the name of Jesus as the authority for that which we ask because He will be returning to His Father as our intercessor. Even now, Jesus sits at the right hand of his Father in heaven acting as our Mediator and intercessor. He is pleading and advocating with God the Father on our behalf. This is a whole study for another time, but know this, Jesus is the one through whom we go for all things and it is in His name and authority we make any all requests of God.

So, God overcomes ignorance and unbelief and he overcomes sorrow.

Finally, God overcomes the world.

God Overcomes the World - John 16:25-33.

John 16:25 ESV

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.

I have said these things to you in figures of speech…but the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech.

Figure of speech – bears idea of obscuring meaning, not necessarily parable.

Point is, much of what Christ taught and revealed, both here and throughout his earthly ministry, was obscured and not fully understood until AFTER His resurrection when the Holy Spirit illumined, reminded, and taught the disciples.

So much of Jesus earthly ministry, he spoke in parable and riddles purposefully to keep the truth hidden from the unbelievers as a judgement for their deliberate and willful choice to reject him.

Even with the disciples, we we see that Jesus sometimes used figures of speech that they failed to understand and until he clarified for them, they did not understand.

Jesus’ point here is this…the time for such figures of speech, for such veiled language is coming to an end.

John 16:26–28 ESV

26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

No longer speaking in figures of speech, Jesus clarifies what it means to pray in His name.

John 12–21: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Love

That statement clarifies what it means to pray in Jesus’ name (cf. the expositions of 14:13–14; 15:16; and 16:23–24 in previous chapters of this volume). It does not mean that believers ask Jesus to request of the Father on their behalf, as though the Father were indifferent to their requests. If that were all that praying in the name of Jesus meant, it would be an inestimable privilege. But the full privilege believers have is that of making their requests directly to the Father consistent with the will of the Son. They have that privilege because the Father Himself loves them, because they have loved Christ—love that they demonstrate through their obedience to Him (John 3:36; 14:21, 23; Heb. 5:9; James 2:14–26; 1 Peter 1:1–2

Point is, because of what Christ is going to do, we will be granted direct access to God the Father. We will not need to go through a middle man any more. Even though Christ DOES act as our intercessor and mediator, He DOES act on our behalf to God, we also have direct access to God because of Christ’s death on the cross and because of our repentance, faith, and love for Jesus.

Their relationship with God the Father is just as real and as personal as it is with Jesus Himself.

This would be new to them, always having had to approach God the Father through human priests and all the rituals and practices they did to ensure a safe approach.

In response to this, the disciples declare…

John 16:29–30 ESV

29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”

The disciples think they finally understand.

And to a degree…they begin to…

However, the fullness of Christ’s work is not yet done and they do not yet fully see or understand. They can’t, they won’t until after Jesus resurrection.

Their declaration of understanding is thus premature. But, yes, they do BEGIN to see.

Thus they declare…we believe you came from God…

MacArthur rightly notes…

is far more than an affirmation of their appreciation for the Lord’s teaching. It is nothing less than a full affirmation of Christ’s omniscience and hence His deity. It represents the apex of the disciples’ recognition of Jesus as a member of the Godhead.

John F. MacArthur Jr., John 12–21, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 229.

There faith is genuine. It is real. They have come to see and know who Jesus is. They have an unmistakable, and unquestionable faith in God. Throughout Jesus ministry, we see various declarations of it, but this is no less the one of the firmest declaration that they see and believe.

However, their faith is still immature and growing, for in a matter of hours, they would flee, deny him, and be scattered.

Thus Jesus says…

John 16:31–32 ESV

31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

This scattering, this fleeing, even Peter’s denial does not reveal the false pretense of their faith, only the immaturity of it.

And in this we find the dilemma of determining the authenticity of one’s faith.

On the surface, it well could have looked like they believed in word only but when they had to prove their faith, they failed.

And yet, they did believe, but weakly, immaturely. Weak faith, immature faith can be confused with fake/professed only faith.

Truth is, you and I cannot tell because we cannot know the heart.

THUS, we continue to speak truth, we continue to admonish, rebuke, instruct, teach…WE continue to believe, to trust, to deepen our intimacy with God, we continue to abide in the vine, and we leave ALL fruit to God, for all fruit is rightfully his to produce, all fruit is ONLY his to produce. :)

We have to leave the nature and state of one’s heart to God and be obedient to the tasks he has entrusted us with.

When we are unsure of the state of a person’s heart, we simply keep speaking truth and let God work with that as he will.

Jesus affirms though, despite their abandonment, He is not alone, for the Father is with Him and will be with him throughout, until that fateful hour when he too must turn his back on his own son for the filth of our sin that will be situated there.

Despite all this, Jesus affirms hope for them in the midst of everything.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Remember, ALL THESE THINGS takes us back to the beginning of chapter 14.

John 14:1 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Let not your hearts be troubled

Believe in God.

Believe in Me

I say these things…that you may have peace.

Peace in a world that is crumbling and in shambles. Peace in a world that is about to get even more rocked.

Peace in a world where trouble abounds…

and yet peace is possible

When we believe in God, when we believe in Jesus

When we abide in the vine, staying vitally connected to the vine.

You WILL have tribulation, Jesus says…

Tribulation - Trouble that inflects distress, oppression, adversity

It is actually a form of the word we translate persecute from.

Thus, Jesus is promising persecution.

This does not fit with those health, wealth, and prosperity gospel preachers does it?

This is the promise, the certainty of it’s reality; we WILL face persecution, trouble.

BUT……

TAKE HEART

This is a command, an imperative.

Take heart…

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. θαρσέω

to be firm or resolute in the face of danger or adverse circumstances, be enheartened, be courageous

BE FIRM.

Stand Fast

Hold your gound

Do not yield

Do not back down

Do not give up

Do not give in

Be courageous

Be faithful

I have OVERCOME the world

Literally to be victorious in a struggle.

To win in the face of obstacles

Meaning, no obstacle has, or ever will, prevent God from being victorious.

He wins.

He is the victor. Now and forever.

God has defeated sin (1 Peter 2:24)

God has defeated death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

God has defeated Satan (Colossians 2:15)

We WILL face persecution, opposition, tribulation and trial, BUT God has already defeated every enemy and foe we face, which means they can never cause us permanent harm. Never. They sorrows and hurts have also been overcome and will actually be tools in the hands of God for OUR WELFARE and BENEFIT.

God has overcome.

(Read the big idea and points in the conclusion)

Conclusion

Big Idea: We have a cure for our troubled hearts because we serve an overcoming God.

God Overcomes Ignorance and Unbelief - John 16:4-15.

God Overcomes Sorrow - John 16:16-24.

God Overcomes the World - John 16:25-33.

In that knowledge, Church, let us go with boldness and continue growing together (through tribulation and trial) to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

Application

How does understanding conviction as a positive thing change our perspective and response to conviction?

When we come to see it as a helpful tool in making us more like Christ, as a means to protect us from the harm of sin and disobedience, we can be THANKFUL for it and respond with humility to it even though it hurts knowing it is make us stronger and healthier in the end.

How is God convicting you of sin in your life? How are you responding to it?

How does the Spirit lead us in truth? How does he reveal truth to us?

God’s primary and greatest means of revealing truth is through the Word of God. The Spirit will grant understanding as we read it. He will bring to remembrance things that we have studied and learned.

God will use others to bring the truth of His word into our hearts and lives.

The Spirit will NEVER contradict the Word of God. If ever one is convinced that the Spirit is revealing “truth” but that “truth” disagrees with the Word of God, it is not truth and it is not the Spirit.

In what way(s) are you resisting truth in your life?

What sorrows in your life do you need to entrust into God’s hands, looking forward with hope until he turns them to joy?

How does the truth that those sorrows WILL be turned to joy help you endure them?

It reminds us that the pain is temporary and serves a greater purpose that will ultimately be for our benefit. We can endure them knowing that they will pass and that they will produce a fruit of righteousness in us that be worth all the pain.

It helps us see purpose and meaning in our suffering.

How will the truth that God has overcome the world cure your troubled heart and help you in times of crisis or temptation?

The world is not more powerful than God, which means that nothing can stop his love or care. Which means that if trouble is permitted in our lives, he is permitting it for a reason, for a good reason that is intended for our benefit. Thus, we do not have to fear that the trouble and persecution we are enduring will go without justice or go with our being converted to a good and holy purposes intent on satisfying good for us and glory for God.

How do you appropriate that truth in the moment and use it to stand fast?

Make a lifestyle of memorizing, meditating, and abiding in the word of God.

Keep your arsenal close and draw from it regularly.

Live in community and let them lift you up when you are unable to lift yourself.

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