You Won’t Have Bad Days

Open with prayer:

For world situations…

For our nation…

For our church/sick/unity…

For the lost…

For Alpha…

For forgiveness…

Connection/Tension

We are in a series of messages called Things Jesus Never Said. Jesus said a lot of things. Sometimes what he said gets obscured or confused or watered down. So in this series, we are looking at what Jesus didn’t say as a way of seeing more clearly what he did say. This morning we are going to look at what Jesus didn’t say about the subject of pain.

Just for fun, let’s look at some things Jesus did not say:

Whoever does the will of my Father, will always get the best parking spots.

If you lose your life for my sake, you will always look great in your swimsuit.

But seek first the kingdom of God, and you will never get a zit before prom.

Jesus never promised you’d always be healthy, wealthy, and thin. That you’d keep your hair, that you wouldn’t get turned down for a date, that you wouldn’t get a zit before prom, that your spouse would never have a headache when you were feeling romantic. (Guy offered his wife two extra-strength pain killers. What’s this for? For your headache. I don’t have a headache. Aha!) We’re going to see this morning that Jesus never said You Won’t Have Bad Days.

Text and Context

We are in John 16 this morning. This section of scripture contains some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples. He’s about to leave and he wants to prepare them for their mission.

John 16:20–21 “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.”

Watched Julie do this four times - without an epidural! Inevitably, there is a point in labor when the contractions are so strong and she is so tired. Wants to quit. Can’t go on. Looks at me like it’s my fault. But then our baby would be born, and she never said the pain wasn’t worth it.

John 16:22 “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” The pain will be worth it.

John 16:33 “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you...”

“You are going to crush it! You own it, baby. You will always get the best parking spot. You will never drop a Wifi connection. You’re streaming service will never buffer during a big play. You’re kids will have perfect teeth. You’re girlfriend will never break up with you. You’ll never lose your job. You pipes will never get backed up.” He doesn’t say any of those things, unfortunately.

John 16:33 “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution [you will have trouble, you will experience pain].”

Jesus says that pain is promised. That suffering is this sin-damaged world is inevitable. Two things are certain: death and taxes. Jesus says that struggle is also certain. There will be pain. Welcome to the Vineyard! I imagine you feel good about your decision to attend church today!

Some of you came in today with pain no one else is even aware of. It could be physical. It could be a serious health issue. A condition that is causing discomfort.

But oftentimes, the pain that really hurts is not physical. It’s emotional. You’ve lost people close to you and the pain is still there. You feel rejected by people who should care about you. You are battling depression. You have anxiety over money. You have relationships in your life that are in shambles. You’re afraid, hurting, feeling overwhelmed, and feel like no one understands. And in moments like these we all tend to ask: Where is God? I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m doing the Jesus-thing. Why is this happening?

If pain is a promise, is there some kind of purpose behind it? I want to look at two blessings that we experience in the midst of trouble and pain.

Pain proves your faith. It reveals it’s roots and exposes its weaknesses.

The apostle Peter wrote to a group of extremely persecuted Jesus followers around the year 60AD. Nero was the psycho emperor in Rome. Writings tell us that he used to do horrible things to Jews and Jesus followers. He would tie animal skins on them and then let loose hungry dogs to eat them alive. He would throw these elaborate parties, and he would cover them in wax and set them on fire, using them as human candles to light up his garden. To these suffering Christians Peter writes this:

1 Peter 1:6–7 (NLT) “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine.”

When we are put under the pressure of pain, it shows how genuine of faith is. If there is a genuine faith, then there must also be a counterfeit faith. Our faith can be false. It looks good on the outside, but inside it doesn’t go very deep. You can fake morality. Jesus told the parable about sowing the seed of the kingdom. Some people receive the seed gladly. But then it gets choked out by the cares of this world. Their seed is shallow, and when persecution and trouble arise, they quickly fall away.

I tried the Jesus thing - I prayed the prayer - but:

I have chronic pain - God doesn’t love me.

I didn’t get the job/promotion I wanted - God’s not real.

My loved one died of cancer, even though I prayed - I can’t trust him.

The testing of our faith is actually a blessing. It shows how genuine it is, and gives us grace to build up the places where it’s weak. A faith that’s not been tested is a faith that can’t be trusted. My experience - and the experience of so many others - is that it is the hard times in life that bring us closest to God. Don’t forget what Jesus said: in this world you will have pain, but in me you can have peace. Pain proves - deepens - your faith so that you can have peace despite what the world throws at you. He promises that he will turn your grief to joy.

Pain prepares you for purpose. Pain isn’t just something that happens to you; it’s something that God is doing in you.

You want a stronger faith. You want to be prepared for God’s next assignment. Newsflash: Ease and comfort never make you strong. You know how to make a weak tree? Give it too much water so that its roots never go deep. Trees need stress to grow strong. You need stress and hardship and adversity to become strong. I use to go the gym and lift weights. I know, hard to believe. But I used to be pretty strong. What grows muscle? Not sitting on the sofa watching Netflix. Resistance!

Listen to James maybe like you’ve never listened before. You are in the middle of a trial or pain right now:

James 1:2–4 “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing [proving] of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Pain prepares you for purpose.

“I don’t see the point of all this. I’m discouraged. I feel overwhelmed. I’m afraid” Could it be that God’s preparation comes packaged as pain? What?! God wouldn’t do that would he? Doesn’t he want me to live a comfortable life?

How did God prepare Joseph to rule over Egypt? By being rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, accused of a crime he didn’t commit. It made his roots grow deeper.

How did God prepared David defeat Goliath? By enduring the hardship of living in the wilderness alone, watching sheep and fighting lions and bears! It made him trust in God.

How was Jesus prepared for the greatest mission of all time? Forty days in the wilderness, eating nothing, and being harassed and tempted by satan. But this prepared him for the later trials that he would endure for the sake of the world.

Could it be that God’s preparation for you comes packaged as pain. Tell yourself, it’s not pain, it’s preparation. It’s not something just happening to me; God is doing something in me. Remember when we talked about re-framing? Re-frame your pain.

That offense - what does it do? It’s purifying your heart. It’s cleansing your soul.

The loneliness you feel - It’s teaching you to trust in God like never before. You’re learning that if you have God, you have all you need.

That betrayal - It hurt, but it’s expanding your capacity to love and forgive.

This setback - It stinks, but it’s building endurance - maybe it’s actually a setup for God to show up and show off.

If you are wrecked with pain, believe that there is purpose in it. God never wastes a hurt. He is the God who:

Psalm 56:8 (NLT) “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

He knows your pain. He promises his joy. Hold on in faith. Pain proves your faith. It prepares you for purpose.

Gospel/Response

Jesus never said this world would be everything you want it to be. He never said your boyfriend wouldn’t break up with you, or that your pipes will never back up, or that your car will never throw a rod, or that you will never get a zit before the prom. The good news of Jesus is not that he saves us from our pain. The good news of Jesus is that his grace is sufficient within the pain. That in your loneliness, your fear, your rejection - he is up to something. This is what he actually did say:

John 16:33 (NIV) “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Is it possible that we lose heart so easily when struggles come bc we don’t believe/remember that our King rose from the dead? In the world you will have trouble. But in Christ you can have peace. Your world can feel like it’s falling apart, but you can stand strong. You can walk into a lion’s den with a smile on your face, because your faith has been tested and it is deep. You know through many trials and troubles that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you, so you can look at the world and say “Take your best shot. And I’ll still be standing.” You’ll know that if there is anything strong in you, it’s not you, but Christ in you who has been preparing you for a greater purpose.

In this world you will have trouble. I love what the apostle John says:

1 John 5:4–5 “for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

In this world you will have bad days. You will have heartbreaks and setbacks. You will have trouble. That’s what Jesus said. But he also said this: I have overcome the world. In the world you have trouble; in Christ you have peace. In the world you have setbacks; in Christ you have victory. In the world you have tears; in Christ you have joy that can’t be taken away.

The way of overcoming this world lies in a relationship with Jesus. He is the one who has overcome. We can’t overcome in ourselves, but in him we share in his victory. The one who conquers is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. That he is God the Son who took on human flesh, who lived a sinless life, who died in our place for sin, who was buried, but as we will celebrate next week, rose from the dead on the third day.

I want your faith to be genuine, not counterfeit. I’m afraid that there are so many Americans who outwardly have an appearance of faith, but inside it isn’t real. They were raised around church. They know the lingo. Maybe they even had an experience as a child. They prayed a prayer, but that’s all it was - a get out of hell free ticket. But they don’t really know Jesus. There is no genuine relationship, no genuine faith. One day Jesus will look at them and say, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” I don’t want that to be you.

Jesus doesn’t promise to save us from pain. He does promise to save us from sin. From all the destruction and death consequences of it. You can know with certainty that you are a child of God, that you are forgiven, that your destiny is heaven. You can know that God loves you and that there is nothing - no pain, no bad days - that will ever separate you from his love.

If you’ve never done this, I’d like to lead you in a prayer of commitment. You need to understand that it isn’t the words of a prayer that saves you but rather it is by placing your trust in Jesus’ finished work on your behalf. But this prayer can be a way of expressing what is in your heart, and if you are ready to commit your life to Jesus, I invite you to pray this with me:

(Prayer of commitment slide) Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned against you by what I’ve thought, by what I’ve said, and by what I’ve done. [Take a moment to confess anything in particular that is troubling your conscience.] I’m sorry and I turn away from this old way of living. Please forgive me. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins. I receive your forgiveness and give you my life. Fill me, Holy Spirit, so that I can learn to love and follow you for the rest of my days. Amen.

If you prayed that today for the first time, let me be the first to welcome you to God’s family! This is only the beginning. I’d love to meet with you and talk about next steps in your new life. (Next steps slide).

2 Corinthians 4:17 “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure”

Ministry time…