[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:14] I'm so thankful to say that my heart can say that He is my joy. We've never walked alone. He is always there. Let's bring those words back up on the screen. Don't fear, I will not even dare try to sing them.
[0:25] But that one verse about the scars on His hands as it's leading to joy there. As today we'll look in John chapter number 16, Jesus is headed to the cross.
[0:36] And that in heading to the cross on the other side, there will be joy. And they sung that there in the verse. They said as He's heading there, the scars upon His hands, that we will find that there is a wonderful scars and struggles on the way.
[0:52] That's John chapter number 16. That's what He's told the disciples, that this time is coming. But with joy, our hearts can say, yes, our hearts can say, go ahead.
[1:03] Well, never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did He leave us on our own. All right. So we're going to look at that today in John chapter number 16, that He never leaves us to our own, that there's wonderful joy.
[1:16] So this passage is filled with questions as we read it earlier. And I love that the disciples were common men. They were fishermen, that some of them were. And they had questions.
[1:26] When Jesus spoke and said things, they said, hey, you say it like it's real simple to understand, but we don't understand. You said a little while at the beginning of your sentence, and you said a little while again. He says it seven times, about four verses.
[1:37] And they said, we just don't understand. And when you have sorrow in your heart, as it was already been said in this passage, our heart was full of sorrow. So you're filled with questions, and they're asking these questions to Jesus.
[1:49] And many of you in here may have some of these same questions today. This passage is filled with questions. How long is a short time? How will we see Him again? Why won't we see you soon?
[2:00] How will you turn sorrow into joy? What do you mean no one could take my joy? It sure feels like somebody could take my joy from me. What am I supposed to be asking from you?
[2:10] What does a baby delivery have to do with any of this? How can my joy be made full? Those are the questions that I'm asking myself as I read this passage. And I'm glad to see that the disciples have the same questions because they speak for us here when they ask Him questions, and He will give it.
[2:27] Psalm 1611 says, That will show me the path of life. The presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
[2:38] That in the presence of Jesus there is joy always, even in the midst of suffering. And we looked at a few of them today. The disciples, as I'll remind you, their heart are filled with sorrow.
[2:49] He told them twice in chapter 14, let your heart not be troubled. Or in chapter 15, because their hearts were troubled. He knew what was in their heart, and He spoke to them. And why are they troubled? Because Jesus is leaving.
[3:01] This is their master. This is the person who met all their needs. This is their friend. They loved Him, and they liked being with Him. When they needed something, they went to Him.
[3:12] He was their source of everything in life. And now they're scared because they don't know what life is going to be like without Him. How many of you have recently lost a loved one?
[3:22] Or you know in the next few months or next couple years, somebody that you hold near to you will be passing on from this side of eternity to the next. How many of you are there with us?
[3:32] Many hands. I'm in here. And the rest of us are in the same boat. We're just not as aware of it as the others. We don't know when life. This week, my wife's grandfather, Pappy, he was set down by hospice.
[3:46] And he was explaining to the hospice people what would be happening in his wife's final days here on earth. And he got prepared for that. And it ripped his heart out of his chest.
[3:56] They've been together, I believe, almost 60 years. And so he knew that God had provided joy in his life through Grandma Tinsley. And so knowing that she was leaving brings great sorrow to him.
[4:10] But as a believer, Pappy, Mr. Tinsley must know that the joy that he received through her was ultimately from God. And he is not leaving. But we hate to lose things.
[4:21] We hate to see them go. And so Jesus gives us four things here to the disciples that applies to the disciples then but applies to us today. You know, many times we have adult Bible fellowship class.
[4:32] We started the book of James in here in our class in the Connect Couples class. And I saw other classes going on. And many of you teach Bible in different places. Throughout the week. You know, sometimes you read the Bible, Brother John, and you're so excited about it.
[4:45] You think, I can't wait together. I want to get some people together. I just want to really want to share this with them. You know, this portion of Scripture is something that I don't want to draw a crowd together about. But I would like to sit down.
[4:56] I wish I could be with every one of you in your time of need. And take you to John chapter number 16. And remind you of these four simple truths. And I hope you will be that person for somebody.
[5:07] In the Training Center and New Testament survey, one of our things in the final exam is looking that you know where in the Bible a portion of Scripture is that applies to a need. If a person is dealing with this issue, where do you take them in the Word of God?
[5:20] As believers in here, as we're meeting together, be equipped. Can I let you know that in the end of John chapter number 16, there's wonderful Scripture from Jesus that show people four things that will help them in their time of sorrow.
[5:33] So we look again at verse number 16 and verse number 18. This term, a little while, this few seven times is said here to us. A little while, and you shall not see me. And again, a little while, and you shall see me.
[5:44] Because I go to the Father. It's hard to understand. The disciples said unto the disciples, then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us?
[5:54] A little while, and you shall not see me. And again, a little while, and you shall see me. And because I go to the Father. So there are the disciples talking among themselves about what Jesus has said.
[6:05] They said, therefore, what is this that thou saith? A little while, and you cannot tell what he saith. Length of sorrow matters, doesn't it? When you know that you're going through something, if you want to know how long it's going to last.
[6:18] You know, one of the questions of our pastor is he's recovering from surgery, and now he's recovering. He wanted to know from the doctor, how long am I going to feel like this? How many weeks or how many days is it going to take?
[6:29] Do you remember the first time that you learned of death? The first time that somebody sat you down and said your grandparents have passed away? A friend, a family member, somebody told that to you?
[6:41] And you're processing. Maybe some of you as parents and grandparents in here can remember the first time you sat down with somebody, and you told them that somebody passed away. And a question that a kid would ask that all of us have over years know we don't ask anymore is this.
[6:55] How long does it last? When will we see them again? I remember that. I remember thinking through those things as a young kid. Yeah, I know my grandparents are gone, but how long? Will I see them next month?
[7:06] Is this a temporary thing? And then you find out that they are not coming back. And that's where the sorrow really sets in. It's where the kids, after when they typically go to the grandparents on Easter, and the grandparents aren't there, that it begins to set in that we're not going to see them again.
[7:22] A nobleman came up to Jesus in John chapter number 4, and he said, My son is there, and he is dead. And Jesus says, Go back. By the time you get to him, everything will be taken care of.
[7:35] And so he knew amount of time. He said, Between now where I'm at and the time I'm back with my son, everything will be okay. And it caused him to rejoice. Knowing that our sorrow is temporary should cause us to rejoice.
[7:48] Verses 16, 17, and 19, he says, You're going to see me again. In a little while, I'm going to be gone. You won't see me. But then in another little while, you're going to see me again. In verse number 22, he says, And I'm going to see you, which is a wonderful thing about our Savior, that he desires to see us and to spend time with us.
[8:06] As I've already said, seven times in four verses. As the illustration was given, we've already read, A woman's hour, a little time. We don't know the exact time or length, but he is certain of it. Lori Basham had her child one day after her delivery date, or expected date.
[8:21] Is this correct? Whatever you said, I'm going to say yes, for time's sake, okay? So she was expecting her child to be born on June the 1st, and she came on June the 2nd, I believe. I'm amazed that they can even get that close to it and going on.
[8:34] But they're just taking an educated guess. You know, the baby doesn't arrive late. He just arrives at a different time than the doctor thought they were coming. But there's an expectant hour. There was a time that she would go into incredible pain.
[8:46] Ladies, don't think for a second. I have any idea what I'm talking about, okay? I know it's triggering in your head. He has no idea what he's talking about. Okay, I'm just reading the Bible for you, okay? Jesus knows what he's talking about here. And so they go through this time, but it's wonderful to see them.
[9:01] To see them holding their child. And if you ask them, is it worth it? Never met a mother and said, no, it's just not worth it. I would have had a choice. Not going to do it again, all right? And so they say that it's worth it going through that sorrow.
[9:14] And so that's illustrated. That through that same sorrow will become joy immediately and here in a short time. The disciples don't know when, but he says it's a little time. They don't know exactly when a little time is.
[9:26] But he'll begin to show them a little while and he will not be seen. He reminds them over and over again in John chapter number 13, all through the book of John. He tells them, I'm going to the Father. I want to go to the Father.
[9:37] I know you guys aren't very happy about this, but I am. I want to go back to the one who sent me. I want to go back to my Father. And he knew that his hour was coming. And that's even the words he said as he's there in the garden and Judas comes up.
[9:49] He says, the hour has come. Evil has come to me. And so he knew the hour was coming. And they tried to fight the truth. But they had been told time and time again in the New Testament and in the Old Testament that there was an hour coming when he would not be with them.
[10:05] And a little while he would see them. He will be seen again. There's many ways that this could be taken here. Let me name a few of these for you. He'll be seen again after the resurrection. After the resurrection, he'll be on earth for 40 days.
[10:17] We'll look at a story here in a second where he even walks with some of them. And they don't recognize that it's him. But they say to the stranger, they think, they say, will you abide with us? Will you stay here? That even when they didn't know it was Jesus by name, they still wanted to abide with him.
[10:31] And that short amount of time they were with him, they said, we don't know who you are. But we know we want to be with you. We also find that life is just a vapor. That we will soon see him in his dignified state there in heaven.
[10:44] When I will see Jesus with my eyes the first time, he will be there on the right hand of the Father. One of our missionaries put out this week a wonderful quote. Life is a vapor for all of us. He said, today the vapor of my life rises a little higher and a little closer to the disappearing.
[11:00] God, help me do something today to make a difference. I never thought about it in those terms. Knowing our life is a vapor, as it says in James, this is our vapors rising. And today we are getting closer to the end of our lives than we've ever been before.
[11:13] So in that way, the disciples are going to see him again in a little while. Because our life is just a vapor. If you get 50 years, 30 years, or 110 years, that is only a vapor in comparison to eternity.
[11:26] He's also going to be seen again in the presence of the Holy Spirit. He will come in. He will indwell them. They will learn more about the Father by seeing him work in and through their lives and through the others.
[11:37] He'll be seen again for us that are still here on earth through the rapture. One day he promises he will come again for us. Nothing else has to happen at any day. He could come today and we would see him again.
[11:47] He comes and gets us and we will see him. And the second coming after the rapture, he will come and set up his kingdom here on earth. But look with me in Luke chapter number 24, verses 28 through 34.
[12:00] And I'll show you that the short time that he mentions here is much quicker than the disciples may have even imagined. As he walks with them, as I've already alluded to here, in Luke chapter number 24, verse number 28.
[12:12] And they drew nigh unto the village, whithitherto they went. And he made us as though he would have gone further. So Jesus is walking with them. They don't know it's Jesus. And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.
[12:26] And he went to tarry with them. They said, Please don't leave us. We want more time with you. And he came to pass, as he said, at me with them. He took bread and he blessed it. And he break and he gave to them. And their eyes were open.
[12:37] And they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight. Much could be said about that. They had spent so much time with Jesus that just by looking at his mannerisms, the breaking of the bread, the way he spoke, they knew that it was him.
[12:49] And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us? While he talked with us by the way, and while he opened us the scriptures. Verse 33. And they rose up in the same hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together and them that were with them.
[13:06] Verse number four, we see rejoicing. He says, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared unto Simon. He appears to them after the resurrection. John chapter number 16.
[13:17] He says, I'm going to go away and the world is going to rejoice. And you guys are going to weep. And he says, But out of the weeping, you are going to rejoice. And here we see that it happens.
[13:29] In a short and a little amount of time, these disciples that have been crying and weeping as the others, they go there and they rejoice and they said, We have seen him. It was a little while and we didn't see him.
[13:39] And now it's a little while and we do see him. The world will rejoice at his death and the disciples will at the resurrection. The time of sorrow comes into joy. So we not only find joy, first of all, here in realizing that our sorrow is temporary.
[13:53] We also realize that Jesus knows about this and he is concerned and we find joy in that. So first of all, time matters. The sorrow you're going through, the loss of a loved one, of another believer, it matters.
[14:07] It's temporary. There's a story of a man. He had four children and three of them loved Jesus and served them with his life. But the fourth one never put their faith and trust in Jesus and lived a life that demonstrated that.
[14:19] On his deathbed, he brought the four children to them. He said words to all three of his children, each of his children in order. And when he got done encouraging them and saying something to the first three, he said goodnight.
[14:30] And then he gets to the fourth child, to the unbeliever. And he shares his heart and he says, I want you to put your faith in Jesus. I want you to love him as I do. I want you to obey his command of the father. And at the end of it, he said goodbye.
[14:42] And the young man said, dad, to my brothers and to my sister, you say goodnight. But to me, you say goodbye. Because to us, it's only goodnight. But to an unbeliever, it's goodbye for all eternity.
[14:55] So Jesus told them there, he said, this is just good night. I'm going to see you again. Your sorrow is temporary. We'll look at the closing of the day that for the unbeliever, it's for eternity.
[15:06] And that the only thing that will ever take the sorrow out of our eye, the tear from our eye, is Jesus in heaven when he wipes that tear away from us. But secondly, great joy in knowing that he is concerned about our sorrow.
[15:17] When you're dealing with a problem, the amount of people that get involved with it help you. If you have a great problem and you share it with a friend and they make that problem your problem, you feel better about it going forward.
[15:28] That's why so people like Facebook and things like that, because you want people to know what you're going through. Well, Jesus makes sure the disciples know that he is very much aware of the sorrow that they're feeling.
[15:38] And in verse number 19, still here in John, he tells them, Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them, Do you inquire among yourselves of that I've said? In a little while and you shall not see.
[15:50] And again, a little while and you shall see me. It's amazing to me that the disciples have Jesus right there. They have the person that has all the answers. But after he speaks, they turn to one another and they begin to speak.
[16:00] They said, he said a little while. What do you think he means? Who cares what each other, each of the disciples think? We have God here. What does it matter what my opinion is on the problem? We have the word of God here with us today.
[16:12] But he says, I know what you guys are thinking and I'm concerned. I want you to know this. Maybe they fear that he was going to continue to speak in Proverbs or in veiled sayings. He would speak truth and it was so hard for them to understand that they saw him as Proverbs or as veiled sayings.
[16:28] Maybe they did not think that in his time going to the cross that their sorrow was worth asking him any questions. I'm simply speculating here. But I do not know why the disciples did not just turn to Jesus.
[16:39] But Jesus turned to them and he says, I know what's on your heart. I know your sorrow. I know what you're talking about. I know what you're looking for. And he says, I have answers to that. He was certain of their sorrows.
[16:51] Verily, verily, in verse number 20, which is truly, truly, he says, I know that you shall reap and you're going to lament. He says, I know in a little bit when I will leave in a little while, your hearts will be full of sorrow.
[17:05] And what a loving shepherd we have here. He's not dealing with prophecy. He's not dealing with the facts here. He's dealing with how they feel. There's a lot of things that they don't understand right now.
[17:15] And he tells them that. He says, right now you don't understand what I'm saying. It's a veiled saying to you. It's like a proverb. But I'm about to speak plainly through my actions. And you're going to understand it completely. The Holy Spirit will come and live inside of you.
[17:26] But he says, right now, I love you and I'm concerned about the way you feel. Jesus, on the way to the cross, he wasn't concerned just about what they knew and knowledge about what was going to happen.
[17:37] He was concerned about how they felt. Isn't that incredible? Tomorrow morning when you wake up and you're dealing with the troubles of your day and the sorrow that you're feeling, that Jesus cares about those things and he has answers for you.
[17:51] Jesus answered the questions that they had not asked. And maybe this is what's happening in your life today. Maybe Jesus is answering a question in your heart that you would never come to him in prayer and ask.
[18:02] Or maybe he's answering a question in your heart for sorrow that will soon be there. You know, it was just, we were at, it was a couple weeks ago that we were, that pastor was preaching to us.
[18:14] We had no idea that he had cancer in his body. You know, it's, you never expect things like that to come. But we're thankful that he is always faithful. The Holy Spirit in Romans 8, 26 tells us that he is able to speak on your behalf when you don't even know what to say.
[18:30] I want to ask you to raise your hand, but have you been there before in your prayer? And you come to God and you say, I don't even know what to say. I don't know what questions to ask. I don't know what I need. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.
[18:42] For we know that what we shall pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. That Jesus speaks to them about a troubled heart and they don't need to even know how to come to him.
[18:56] So first of all, we find comfort in knowing that sorrow is temporary. Secondly, we see that Jesus is concerned. But we also know that he is working this situation, which ought to be the darkest hour, the worst hour in human history, that he is working it for our good and for our joy.
[19:12] And we see that here in verse number 20, 21, and 22. The world will rejoice, but you're going to weep is what he tells them. Great joy in knowing that he is working the current situation for good.
[19:25] You may remember some weeks ago in John chapter number 12, he tells them, he says, And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man shall be glorified. Verily, verily, I'll send you, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it bideth alone.
[19:38] But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. So he tells them here, he says, The grain of wheat doesn't go on the ground, it can't bear fruit. So if sorrow doesn't happen, if we do not weep right now, then you cannot reap the fact that he has died and risen again and paid for our sins, and we cannot rejoice.
[19:54] So they go from reaping and weeping and crying to rejoicing. John 15, 19, he tells us that the world hates us because it hates him. And so now the world is happy about it, this dark hour.
[20:06] As we've seen a video clip from that preacher that says Sunday is coming, it's Friday, and Satan is sneering, and the whole world is happy, but Sunday is coming, Satan thinks he has a victory, and the world is happy about it.
[20:19] They rejoice, they're excited about the death of the cross. Do you remember this rebellious people that we are as well before we accept Jesus Christ? But when given a decision in Mark chapter 15 where they were going to let one of the prisoners go, and they had a choice between Jesus and a man named Barabbas, and we knew what Barabbas had been involved in, that he was guilty and everybody knew it, and they said, do you want this Jesus who says he's the king of Jews to be released?
[20:46] And they said, give us Barabbas. And when that man who was released among the community, when he was released, and that Jesus was sentenced to death, the world rejoiced because they hate him and they hate us.
[21:00] But that is not our story. And so they hate him and they're rejoicing, but the day was shortly coming in just a little while. We would be the ones that would rejoice and we would know. His love for us and his glory is what allowed him to do this.
[21:13] And in this time we see that Jesus transforms the sorrow and joy and he does not replace it. He does not change the plan. He is going to the cross as he planned to do. And he says, through the cross you will cry, but through the cross I will be resurrected and you will rejoice forevermore.
[21:27] I can't think of a better modern day illustration than what I'd read recently. On the two-year anniversary, Natasha Tolson and Mark as they lost their child. Wesley mentioned this a few weeks ago, but my heart keeps going back to it.
[21:41] Listen to the words that she writes here upon her blog. She said, recently, however, there's been a lot of pressure to replace him because I've been given a precious new bundle of life. Some feel that with my arms full I have no reason ever to long for him.
[21:55] I understand why their hearts hurt when thinking of him. Their hearts hurt for me. They want my wound to be healed just like a good mama bandages her baby's wounds. Bandaging my heart with a new baby makes everything all better, right?
[22:09] Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. I don't consider myself to be grieving any longer and haven't for a long time. But new babies bring back old memories and postpartum blues add to the already said reminders.
[22:19] And laying in bed the other night, I could picture the way my room looked that first day in the hospital. I could see the TV show my friend and I watched as we waited for the first night to pass. I could hear the laughs my friends and I shared as we walked the hallways trying to progress things.
[22:33] I could smell the lavender oils used to keep me calm. I could remember the panic I felt as the doctor rushed in to deliver him. I could remember the joy I felt the moment I touched his face. The memories brought tears, and for the moment I just wanted to forget them.
[22:46] My anger came from my heart that felt to be sad, just wasn't allowed anymore. I thought this year I wouldn't deal with grief. The peace was the constant, and having a new one meant I wouldn't mourn for the previous one.
[23:01] After sitting in a dark room for a while, soaking the sheets, I blew my nose, laid back down, and felt his comforting hand come over me. And he reminded me having my arms full again doesn't make me all better.
[23:12] He does. He is my comfort, and he is my stay. For those that don't know it, the young lady couple, Mark and Natasha, lost their child. And many people and many Christians would say the only thing that would comfort the loss and the sorrow of that first child or that first son would be another one.
[23:30] And Natasha got it. She understood it, that Jesus did not want to replace sorrow in her life, but he wanted to transform this time of sorrow into joy. Because he is wonderful, and he is miracle-working, and he does not need a plan B.
[23:43] Plan A is always going to work. And in that, she found an incredible joy and a closeness with God. And what a challenge to us today. Romans 8, 28, we know that he works all things together for good.
[23:55] And can I tell you in here that he does not work every other thing for his good, but he works all things for good. And the sorrow that you're going for, do not bunker down and wait for it to pass, waiting for the next thing to replace it.
[24:08] But in the sorrow that you're dealing with, and in the trouble, he is working it to his good and for his glory. And there is going to be joy found there. Don't wait for it.
[24:19] Don't waste your life waiting for the next thing to replace your sorrow. But look for the joy that is found in knowing it's temporary, knowing that he cares about it, and know that he has a wonderful plan in it.
[24:29] We not only find joy in sorrow by realizing our sorrow is temporary, and knowing that the Lord is concerned for us, and knowing that he works through every circumstance. We also find it in knowing that no man can take what God gives us.
[24:41] He says, nobody is going to take this joy from you. And that's where a question must come in. Because maybe you would admit with me, I feel like people can take my joy. I feel like people can give me joy, and I feel like they can take it away.
[24:52] But he says, there's something that was secured at the cross that nobody will ever change. And because of it, your joy will never be departed, and it will always be there for you.
[25:03] Verse 22, and you now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. In your joy, no man taketh from you. The resurrection means that Jesus will never die.
[25:16] I will be your joy, and I have defeated death, and nothing can separate us from the love of God. For I'm persuaded that neither death nor life, in Romans 8, 38 and 39, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, nor anything else that you could think of possibly the day, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[25:41] Because of the resurrection, because he overcame this world, and because of his death, he will never die, and he will never be separated from us, which means our joy will never die.
[25:52] To my grandfather, as I tell him, to my wife's grandfather, who is losing a wife, that he is losing a wife and a source of happiness, and God is used for joy, but his joy is not dying in her.
[26:03] That the joy that comes from Jesus, and he says, I will never die, so your joy will never die. But also, there's another thing that must be necessary here. Because of the resurrection, our joy will never die, but we will never die, because we experience the victory of it.
[26:18] We will never be cut off from our source of joy. Because he lives, we live. John 14, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you yet a little while, and the world seeth no more.
[26:28] But you see me, because I live, you shall live also. Our source of joy will never die, and we will never die, which means our joy is eternal, which means no man can go back in history and change the resurrection.
[26:40] And at the resurrection, my eternal life was secure, and my source of joy was made permanent for all eternity, and nobody can take it from you. Nobody trying to take it from you.
[26:51] Nobody accidentally taking it from you. And good news, you cannot even hand it over. You cannot even take it from you, because you did not buy it. You did not find it. You did not work for it.
[27:01] But it was one for us on the cross. Our belief in Jesus' life, he is our eternal life. John 11, 25, and 26. Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, shall he live.
[27:15] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, believest thou didst. I will never die. My source of joy will never die. We find joy in sorrow by realizing it is temporary, that knowing our Lord is concerned, and knowing that he's working it out for our joy and his great glory.
[27:30] We also find it in knowing that no man can take it away from us. So as I come to a conclusion of these four simple points, it applies differently to two groups of people in here. In here today, there's a group of people that are believers.
[27:42] We believe. We love Jesus, and we believe. And I ask you, have you found your joy? It was bought for you, and it's there. You only find this in Jesus. Jesus, for the believer, I ask you, have you lost view of eternity?
[27:55] Have you lost view of the fact that it's only a little while and we will be gone from here? Have you lost the fact that the loved one that you've lost or that you are losing, it's only for a short time. Look at life in view of eternity.
[28:06] We will be there forever. It's only when a loved one passes away could they be set up in eternity so they can never be lost. We don't lose people. Because of their death in Jesus, they are set into a place where we were together with them, and they cannot be lost forevermore, that they are secure for us.
[28:22] Have you blamed God for forgetting about you in time of need? Have you thought he just doesn't care? He doesn't care about what we feel about, so I will talk to another disciple. I will talk to somebody else because he is unconcerned.
[28:35] Are you hoping God replaces your current situation with a different one, or are you waiting for him to transform it into joy? Did you wake up this morning in prayer and say, God, take this from me?
[28:46] Or did you say, God, I don't know the reason that I'm dealing with this, but I know you are powerful. And in this, I will find wonderful joy. Have you looked for happiness from unstable people instead of trusting a never-changing God who will give you unshakable joy?
[29:01] Look no other place for it. As I joked a couple weeks ago, if you buy a Rolex watch and there's a Ferris wheel in the background, if you're at a carnival, it's a counterfeit. If you have found joy in anything in this world, in financial, sports, friends, family, and anything outside of Jesus, it will change.
[29:19] It's only in Jesus Christ you will find your joy. Everything else is a cheap replica, and it will not sustain you. And I turn here to another group of people in here, and I do not know your hearts, but I turn to the unbeliever.
[29:32] The tears of sorrow shed for the unbeliever will be wiped away in heaven, and these verses that we just talked about do not address your state. Revelation 21.4 tells us that every tear will be wiped away.
[29:43] That my parting from you is not temporary. That I do not say goodnight to you, but I say goodbye. And that I imagine in here, if you're an unbeliever and you're in America, that there was somebody in your family at some time that has prayed for you and that would love to meet with you again.
[29:59] And can I tell you that if you're raised in a family and they're not Christian, that you could change the legacy of your family, you could change that family tree, and you could go to a gathering place and bring other people with you and tell them about it.
[30:11] There is no comfort found in anybody else. And Jesus, for all eternity, provides us an unbroken joy. How could you say that you would not want that? How could you say no to the offer that he provides you today?
[30:25] So, believer, are you experiencing that joy? Do you know that no man can rob it from you? Do you know the sorrow you're feeling is temporary and he's going to transform it? Do you treat it like that? Or are you mad and bitter and angry at God because of your circumstances, forgetting that he is working it and that joy is going to be found in it?
[30:41] And my heart goes out to you, unbeliever, in here today. There is a joy unspeakable found in Jesus Christ. And you can look your whole life, and I sure pray you do not wait to your last hour, and it's too late to find that it's not going to be found in any other place.
[30:54] But he wants to transform your sorrows right now in all of your life into wonderful joy. And this could be the day that is your hour that out of your sorrow of your life that you'll find joy or through your answer you'll find answers to your questions.
[31:07] And just as Jesus was able to answer the questions of the disciples, there's people in here today from the Word of God, not from our opinion that can answer questions for you today about God, about sin, about a wonderful Savior, and about permanent, eternal joy.
[31:23] Heavenly Father, I ask that you be with us today. I pray decisions will be made by believers and unbelievers today. Lord, my prayer in here is that an unbeliever would find eternal joy. As the disciples walked with you on Jesus on the road, and they did not know his name, but they said, I want to abide with you, I pray that they have heard something about your wonderful Son today that makes them desire to abide with him, to want to be with him, to have the joy that is offered in him.
[31:48] And today they will find answers to their questions. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.
[32:12] Thank you.
[32:36] Thank you.