The Holy Spirit, Sorrow and Joy
Upper Room Discourse • Sermon • Submitted
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Where we’re at.
Where we’re at.
Over the last month and a half we embarked on a journey through the Upper Room discourse. This is a conversation, a moment of teaching, between Jesus and His disciples. Where the Sermon on the mount was meant for His disciples, yet all were invited in, this convo was a bit more intimate and we as NT believers are invited in. For the sake of time I will not do my usual recap. Today We’re gonna be in John 16:5-24. Its a huge chunk of scripture, but I will do my best to help us through this.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit
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. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 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. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
A few weeks ago Nohan walked us through the peace and comfort that only The Holy Spirit supplies. This is one of His ministries, to supply us with comfort in uncomfortable times. Jesus, like we see in our text today, tells them that He will no longer be with them, yet the Spirit of truth, will come and in The Truth, the Gospel, they will be comforted even in the face of persecution.
Likewise here Jesus is telling His disciples that He is leaving yet out of grief they don’t really ask where He’s going, though they have, but their grief has them focus on the fact that He is leaving, not to where. So their peace starts to flee.
He tells of the benefit of Him leaving and them receiving the Holy Spirit. I want to take a quick look at His work in us.
The Holy Spirit turns our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
and by this work we are born of the Spirit.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The Holy Spirit illuminates, meaning that He shines a light so that we can see the Truth through the darkness.
Not every part of Scripture is equally clear to our understanding. Certain passages are difficult to grasp. We struggle at certain points to gain insight into the meaning of the text. The effect of sin upon us is to shroud our mind in darkness. In our fallen nature we are creatures of darkness who are in desperate need of light.
Though the Scriptures themselves are light for us, there is need for additional illumination so that we may clearly perceive the light. The same Holy Spirit who inspires the Scripture, works to illumine the Scriptures for our benefit. He sheds more light on the original light. Illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit. He helps us to hear, receive, and properly understand the message of God’s Word
Pastor Heraldez had this to say yesterday:
The powerful Holy Spirit whom we know and call "the third person of the trinity" LIVES IN US!
He is not third in rank, authority and power, but in relation to the plan of redemption.
He bears the same attributes of the Father and of Christ, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, coeternal with the father and with the son.
So Jesus effectively says, if I do not leave then these things will never come to pass in you and you will never come to understand the things I’ve done while I was here.
Sorrow and Joy
Sorrow and Joy
“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 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’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 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’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
There is sorrow in loss. There is no way around it. It is the reality of living on this side of eternity. Jesus understood that better than anyone as both the creator of emotions and the One who experienced these emotions Himself. Isaiah called him the Man of Sorrows because the Christ was to lay down His life for the sins of many. Here Jesus i pointing them to that reality in one way, that He will no longer be with them, but to take heart because there is someone new to them, whom Peter experienced in the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This was the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. A foretaste of the things to come.
In John 11 we see how Jesus experiences great sorrow for the loss of His friend Lazarus. One of the shortest verses in the bible,
Jesus wept.
There is sorrow and pain in this life, struggles and strife. It is our lot on this side of eternity. Though I’m not the most acquainted with loss, or maybe it’s because i can become numb and aloof during loss, I’m very in tune with this idea and do my best to remember this as a reality.
While I was in NY I had the opportunity to visit the 911 memorial. I went through the entire exhibit and it was honestly awe inspiring. But there was one section that actually made feel the gravity of what happened to our country that day. There’s video playback of the towers during impact and collapse and you can hear phone calls and yeah…to think of the suffering that was experienced on that day from those stuck in the towers, to those who are left behind with the pain and the task of having to get things straight after. I felt the weight of that in that exhibit hearing calls and news reports. We can get so carried away with the symbolic loss of the towers that maybe, not saying that entirely, but maybe we forget about the human loss of that day. We should never forget either.
Right now our church is in a season of grief. Earlier this week Brother Tony Gonzalez went to be with Lord. That has left a whole in the heart of the church that God will mend, but at this time we mourn his loss. I will resist going in to a eulogy because there is so much that can be said about Tony. Right now the heartbreak is real and it can be difficult to see beyond it, and that’s okay. Maybe some of us didn’t know him and don’t know what to do with ourselves.
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
I’m not suggesting that you yell and throw ash on yourself in order to stand in solidarity with those that are grieving, but this is an example of baring one another’s burdens. Sometimes that looks like encouragement, but so many times, and this is something that God has taught me through my wife, sometimes that means sitting there in silence. As christians we sometimes feel compelled to tell someone it’ll be okay, or that God is with them, so on. But sometimes the best remedy is to sit in silence with someone. As I’ve heard said before, sometimes you have to just sit in the suck to bear each other’s burdens.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Jesus shows that you do not always have to smile, you do not always have to say you’re okay when you’re not. We have a responsibility to be honest with each other. We have this tendency to say we’re good when we’re not. If we cannot be honest with our blood bought brothers and sisters than who? We were purchased by the blood of christ, through His atoning sacrifice we have been brought together to rejoice and to suffer together, to build one another up in the word, in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Jesus uses the example of a woman giving birth. Which is a beautiful and intense experience. I had the privilege of being there with Priscilla. What I experienced that night was the most beautiful and painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Which always makes me say to myself, I cant imagine her process. Tears, blood and sweat later Eden is born. And through the madness you hear a cry and the joy of new life floods the room that you’re in. I was able to see priscilla’s entire demeanor change when this new life was laid on her. you can almost see a goldfish moment happen. Though no one ever fully forgets that process, but the anguish is outweighed and overshadowed by the joy in life.
In verse 20 Jesus encourages them by saying that their sorrow will turn into joy. And this is by work of the Holy Spirit. He reminds us of the richness of His loving kindness. That Christ is our hope and our anchor. And he mediates for us beyond the veil. That’s why Jesus says that whatever you ask in my name the father will give to you.
This is our hope, that the word and work of Jesus christ is applied to us through the life giving, heart changing, cleansing and annointing work of the Holy Spirit. That as we go through grief and pain the Holy Spirit keeps us in the Joy of the Lord.
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,
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the New Testament Chapter Sixteen
The sending of the Holy Spirit was the fruit of Christ’s purchase on the cross and an answer to His intercession within the veil—a proof of the acceptance of His finished work with the Father. He is the companion of the true believer in every place and at all times, whereas Christ’s corporal presence could be in but one place at a time. As to unbelievers, the Holy Spirit proves sin upon them because of their rejection of Christ, and warns of judgment. To the believer, He is the constant helper and the revealer of the things of Christ
Believer, have joy even in the darkness. When you find it difficult to be happy, know that Joy runs deeper than that emotion. That Joy stems from the assurance that we have in Christ. As the dark night of the soul tarries, we know that our hope is in Christ.
Unbeliever, that is the hoe set before you. As the hopelessness of this world can be daunting, know that there is a God that renews those that are His. That He never leaves them and is their strength.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.