Little While Times

Tonight, I'm going to be bringing a message out of the book of John. So if you have your Bibles, if you want to flip with me over to John chapter number 16, verse 16 through 22 is going to be our text. So once you find your place, if you wouldn't mind standing as we read, read the word.

I can listen to that series. It was a summer series that we went through the book of Malachi. And last Sunday, last Wednesday, we talked about some interesting things in Malachi about the end times.

And so you can go back and check that out. John 16, verse 16 through 22. The Bible says, a little while and you shall not see me. And again, a little while and you shall see me because I go to the Father. They said, therefore, what is this that he sayeth a little while? We cannot tell what he sayeth. Now, Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them.

Do you inquire among yourselves of that? I said, a little while and you shall not see me. And again, a little while and you shall see me. Barely, barely, I say unto you that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice and you shall be sorrowful, but your joy, your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow because her hour has come.

But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more to the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now, therefore, have sorrow. But I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice in your joy.

No man taketh from you. Father, we do rejoice with the truth of your word and the glory of Christ Jesus, our savior. We pray that you would bless the service tonight. I pray that you would work in the work in such a great way to bring the truths of this passage to our hearts. I pray that you would bring comfort to those that are hurting. I pray that you would bring salvation to anyone that's lost. And I pray that you would be exalted in every heart that's here tonight. We ask it in Jesus name. And God's people said, Amen.

You may be seated tonight. But who also faced some traumatic events in his life. He was a successful lawyer in Chicago, in the great Chicago fire of 1871.

It burned up 3.3 square miles of Chicago. It killed hundreds of people, ruined him financially. Then his four-year-old son passed away. He decided to move to Europe so he sent his family ahead of him as he finished some business. His four daughters were on one ship and his wife was on another ship. The ship his daughters were on was struck by a sailing ship causing it to sink. The telegram he received from his wife said simply these two words, saved alone. Spafford received the horrifying news that all his children were now dead. He immediately left to be with his grieving wife.

The captain let Spafford know when they passed the area that his daughters had drowned. It was at that moment that he was inspired to write these words, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot thou has taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul. And though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul.

Sometimes people say what are you seeing the old hymns because there's a lot of powerful truth behind a lot of these songs. But in the face of some of the most traumatic events in the midst of the grip of grief, God stepped into the heart of this man and his faith shined through in such a powerful way that we today are benefited from that as we sing such a wonderful song it is well with my soul. Has life ever handed you some heavy news, some some some tough things to hear, news that makes time seem to stand still? It's amazing how much impact that a single phone call can make on your life.

Just one phone call can literally transform the rest of your life. Days that you look back on and don't know how you made it through, events that literally changed the course of your heart, your mind, wounds that you thought you know I'm I'm never going to be the same from this, mental emotional pains no worldly sedative seemed to be able to affect and cause to bring peace. Just in the last two weeks we've had four dear ladies in our church all four of them separate brothers all four of their brothers passed away and I believe three of them were unexpected. My own wife's grandmother passed away this last week and funerals this Friday and she was 92 and what a what a blessing she was saved and she was so tired that last day and she said I just just so tired and she laid down and just passed away and I thought what a wonderful way to go amen. No six months of chemo radiation just laying down and passing away and so praise God for that. John 16 is given to us on the heels of really traumatic a traumatic time in the life of these men. This was a traumatizing experience that they were about to face. Their hearts would be torn to pieces literally hours away from seeing the one who they had devoted their lives to being crucified, slaughtered as a lamb in such a horrific way that I don't think we can understand the level of devastation that that caused to their hearts. You you sense the feel of that with the two men on the road to Emmaus when they said we had thought that this was the Messiah. Their hopes were so high and and and to be let down after being brought so high is is a very difficult thing and Jesus tells them leading up to his death in verse 16 he says a little while and you shall not see me in verse 20 he gives them the double verily this is like let me have your attention I want you to really pay attention to what I'm saying he says verily verily that that literally means amen Jesus amen his messages before he preached them because they were that good and that true and he says get this in other words understand what I'm saying to you ye shall weep and lament he says but the world shall rejoice and you shall be sorrowful he tells them that and as you read verse 16 down to verse 22 seven times the phrase a little while is used and I want to call those seasons in our life of suffering little wild times and and so tonight our message is entitled little wild times first of all what I think we see from this passage are that little wild times come in life we all face life in its difficulties sometimes people can somewhat be naive thinking that they're they should be exempt from tragedy they should be exempt from heartache but I think just as the rain comes down on the just and the unjust so does pain so does trial so does heartache Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that in life there are seasons it says in Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 to every thing there is a season a time to every purpose under the heaven a time to be born a time to die a time to plant time to pluck up that which is planted time to kill a time to heal a time to break down a time to build up a time to weep time to laugh a time to mourn a time to dance a time to cast away stones a time to gather stones together a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to get a time to lose a time to keep in a time to cast away time to rend a time to sew a time to keep silence a time to speak a time to love at a time to hate a time of war in a time of peace and what God's telling us here is life is filled with seasons and as we go through the year one of the things I do appreciate about Ohio and sometimes people say oh you know the weather of Ohio and they cast downcast upon that but you know I appreciate four seasons anybody else appreciate that I thank God for that I I like I don't want to be well I love to live in Florida no you wouldn't go down there in the summer I was I was in South Carolina this year and a guy said he said man I retired moved down here I thought I was gonna be wonderful he said it's 105 degree real feel for a couple months he said I thought I'd come down here I bought a boat I was gonna fish every day he said I could only fish to about 830 in the morning I was done it was so blazing hot he said it's miserable yeah heaven didn't come on earth or you did it you know and we have all these ideas thank God for the cool days amen of a of Ohio it gets warm and you enjoy that it's nice to bundle up sometimes causes your wife to cuddle with you I like that but there's spring and summer and fall and winter and just like their seasons in nature so there are seasons in our life you know there's time to be born there's a time to crawl you begin to take their first steps I know David Peters is experiencing that with his little 18 month old baby and and little Joshua he's got a good name in him and he's these kids grow up fast man you blink in there they're they're running and and then they begin to go off to school and then you take them off to their first day of school and you take pictures especially with the firstborn you're so excited second born you take them to school the third born you say hey you're gonna ride the bus the fourth one you're like do you have to go you know you take them so I was third in line I know how that goes you know what I'm saying it's like dad you got any pictures of me when I grew up you know so no they were they were good but then then the kids get older and they go off to college and then they get married and and then you who were a parent of a young child now become the grandparent of a young child and then you begin to one who were caring for your children now become those who care for your elderly parents and and then that season begins to shift to where you begin to need care and you begin to see a lot of your friends passing away then you become the last patriarch or the the last person in your family alive and and then your season comes to an end and and the Bible tells us that life is like that it's like a season and death is a part of that season a part of that process and and when you go to the Bible you find that you find that the people of the Bible were not exempt from real tragedy I mean Adam and Eve I think about the tragedy that the first family faced you know they they really lost two sons in one day you know one died but the other became a fugitive right I mean he had a he was a marked man and just the the heartache and the pain and the suffering of the mom and dad there Abraham his travels trials family struggles were intense you think about Isaac his older brother wanted to his older son I should say wanted to kill his younger son Jacob his father-in-law was a crook he worked for for 20 plus years Genesis 35 in one chapter in Jacob's life his wife dies his son commits a great sin against him and his father dies Hannah felt the pain of being barren for the majority of her life Naomi's husband died her two sons died she returned home to Bethlehem she said don't call me Naomi anymore which meant full call me Mara because my life is bitter and it means empty Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness leading the Israelites in a time Moses said just take my life Lord David had both great victories in life but also great defeats he felt the pain of losing a child and also having a child who wanted to kill him and take his throne and and Hebrews speaks of Old Testament Saints who Hebrews 11 36 says and others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover of bonds and imprisonments they were stoned they were sawn asunder that's specifically could be speaking of Isaiah who was cut in half who were tempted who were slain with a sword they wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy they wondered in deserts and mounds and dens the caves and in earth I mean these are the most godly people and their life was filled with trauma trials tragedy sometimes we think that and maybe it's the Americanized system that we live in maybe it's the air condition maybe it's the cushioned chairs that we we've come accustomed to but we think that our lives should be exempt from the heartache and pain sometimes and when they come we seem to be shaken in our faith 2nd Corinthians 11 Paul says of his own life he speaks about the beatings he took for Christ the imprisonments the shipwrecks the the the hurting the cold the suffering that he went through all for the sake of the church and for the work of the ministry the early church was martyred but the the truth is great trials and hardships come you could be the best person in town you could be the most faithful Christian in the church and you may have the life that has most experienced the job like processes of life the job trials so little wild times come friends and secondly little wild times many times are very hard to understand it's hard to get your mind around them your theology may seem fixed until you get hit anybody know what I'm talking about you know when things seem really well and things are going well you seem like you're not shaken but I can tell you what you can you can be shaken you you may have the strongest faith in the country and you can be shaken and if you don't think you can be shaken I can tell you you have a shaken coming I mean God can humble any one of us we have to realize if there's anything in me that's solid it's Christ in me because on my own I don't have that stability I don't have that power and so here you look what they do in verse 17 when he says a little while I'm gonna see me a little while you shall not see me I go to the Father verse 17 then said some of the disciples among themselves what is this that he saith unto us a little while and you shall not see me again a little while and you shall see me because I go to the Father they said therefore what is this that he saith a little while we cannot tell what he said they were struggling to get it and here the disciples are struggling to understand what Jesus means by saying a little while what does he mean with this little while statement you can sense their nervous questions the struggle of understanding this and what you find is Jesus had some sense of an intimidating presence because they were afraid to ask him off in a question you ever read that in a New Testament they fear to ask him you know Jesus always gave him answers but I think that he had such a I mean this is this is Almighty God in human flesh right this is this is the glory of God in a human body and but just because you're saved doesn't mean you have all the answers the disciples had some questions and sometimes the Lord will allow us to be in a state of questions without clear answers on purpose sometimes God wants us to have questions that we don't have the answers for for the purpose of trusting God did job have all the answers no he said I wished that God could come down and speak and finally God did he says you want me to speak you stand up and be a man job and job says I will put my hand over my mouth I spoke of things which I knew not I've spoken once I will not speak again and God asks him about 120 questions to which job couldn't answer one of them job didn't have all the answers up front Abraham didn't have all did Abraham know where the Promised Land was going to be somehow Sarah followed him says you got directions he says I have God Moses didn't have all the answers leading the people in the wilderness what a stressful process you know out of all the men in the Bible I think man boy I wouldn't want him to be Moses right but all these men trusted God and where sight was not available faith was and so God leaves us with questions for the purpose of saying God I will trust you to fill in the gap for which I don't have an answer right now that's what it means to walk by faith God doesn't always give us the sight Lord if that's you bid me come unto you come well how can I walk on water just come there's a whole lot of answers and questions that were not even asked or understood yet but Peter got out of the boat when life hurts bad enough we will it'll make you ask a question when the temperatures up that high it begins to to turn up the because when we feel the infliction of pain it's an act it's a response in us that says what did I do to deserve this why the suffering why the pain we just cry out God I don't understand I mean we're like Martha and Mary who said Lord if you had been here why where were you at four days ago we had sent someone I know many of you have been in those situations times we try to make sense of pain times we cannot reconcile the level of pain we are enduring with our lives maybe you have some questions today maybe your hearts heavy with questions that you can't seem to answer life can hurt really bad sometimes the pain can be so intense and if you love people you hurt much in life you choose to love you choose to hurt sometimes people get hurt by something they just pull away from everything and that's not good because then other problems begin to come first of all they are no longer ministering to anybody they're ministering to themselves because they value their own safety more than the needs of those around them they value their own comfort more than the needs of other people the disciples asked what does this mean Job didn't understand David didn't eat for a week when his child was sick and ended up dying in a few hours the disciples would be weeping Luke 24 the men on the road to Emmaus were overwhelmed with sorrow so little wild times come little wild times secondly are very hard to understand sometimes you just just know that's a reality and if you're a young person today and maybe there's some young people in our church who face some great trials but maybe you're here today and you've not really faced some heavy situations just know that you're gonna need this message down the road you will need it and I pray that life treats you very graciously but I can tell you this if you carry the Bible when you're young it will carry you when you're old it is what sustains it is what holds people up I've been at the bedside of many people who died in their 20s I've buried many teenagers I've seen such sorrowful things in life and and so with thirdly here we find in verse 19 Jesus knows we struggle to understand little wild times in life look what he says in verse 19 now Jesus what's the next word in verse 19 yeah Jesus knew that they were desires to ask him and said unto them do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said a little while and you shall not see me and again a little while and you shall see me you know Jesus could have made it so clear that they would have known but he wants to give it in such a way that they dig in to seek the answer sometimes God leaves us with questions so that we seek the answers and he wants to know do they really want the answer do they even want it sometimes I ask questions to people and I could give them the answer but I want to see if they really want the answer and sometimes I won't even there's been times I've not even given people answers because I didn't since they wanted it enough but I'm just gonna leave them until they want the answer enough I'll leave them in a state of emptiness or a state of struggle until they realize hey I need the truth and so Jesus knew they had questions they wanted to ask but perhaps were afraid to ask or didn't know how to ask so Jesus brings it up to them Jesus knows that we have questions and struggles to understand what little while times mean in life your struggles do not go unnoticed by God that's that's an essential thing for us he is not unaware or unconcerned and people say well why hasn't he done anything yet let me ask you has he done anything about our struggles as he has he done anything about the trials of our life what struggles do we have that Jesus did not face and I believe our Lord is so compassionate and sympathetic and caring that it just that we find that here in in the gospel records you can hold your place here in John 16 flip over to Matthew 26 and just want to read a couple verses there Matthew chapter number 26 just by way of context Matthew 26 is hours away from Christ's death Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane Peter James and John were coming apart with Jesus to pray Jesus walks off in the garden by himself according to Bible he's so overwhelmed with grief he's so consumed with grief and sorrow the bitter cup that he had to drink that night and the impact of it just begins to crash down upon him in Matthew 26 verse 36 is this then cometh Jesus with them Matthew 26 36 into a place called Gethsemane and saith unto the disciples sit ye here while I go and pray yonder and he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee which are James and John and he began to be sorrowful and very heavy then saith he unto them this is an incredible statement my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death carry ye here and watch with me the word sorrowful the word is is a word of speaking of tremendous grief six days before this in John 12 27 Jesus made this statement he says now my soul is troubled and what shall I say father save me from this hour before this cause came I under this hour Isaiah 53 3 says he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief something that song Sunday man of sorrows what a name for the Son of God who came ruined sinners to reclaim hallelujah what a Savior what a good song and it says he was very heavy it's a it's a Greek word that is in the Greek their strength there's three words that could speak of being overwhelmed with grief this is the strongest of the three it's a verb that means to have tremendous distress tremendous anguish and grief it's it's it's literally a deadly kind of grief I don't think anybody in this room has touched this kind of grief in our lives because verse 38 says he was sorrowful unto death the agony was literally taking his life the inward distress was causing his body to break down a normal person could not have survived what he was going through verse 39 this is where the inward sorrow can be no longer held in it says in verse Luke 22 41 it says he went about a stones cast away and he fell on his face Luke 22 verse 43 tells us there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening him and and some theologians believe that if the angel didn't come and strengthen him that he physically would have died Luke 22 44 says and being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground the agony so overwhelming it causes a phenomenon known as hermatidrosis where you begin to perspire blood even the NART Leonardo da Vinci describes his soldier who began to sweat blood before a battle and he also wrote about a man who was sweating blood when he was given an unexpected death sentence and the reason that he was under such turmoil was not because of the physical pain it was it was a spiritual reality that he was taking the bitter cup the sin that you and I have committed on himself in the garden being being the sacrificial lamb in our place just an incredible you know we're gonna be observing the Lord's Supper this Sunday we need to we need to rest upon that truth the glory of Christ for us first Peter 3 18 says Christ also once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God if you choose to reject Christ you accept the wrath of God to say no to Christ who took you our wrath is to say Christ I reject you and I'll take God's wrath myself and so that night Jesus was under such anguish such turmoil of heart and soul blood was pouring from him and all he could do and this just this is so humbling to me I've never gotten over this as I've studied through the Gospel of John is he faced the sin of the world that he faced the bitter cup he faced Judas betraying him he faced the other 11 leaving him and all he could do from chapter 12 to the end of his life on the cross was care about his disciples I remember studying through this for years in in spending a couple years in John just thinking God how could you not for one moment just think about yourself John 12 27 he says now as my soul troubled and what shall they say father saved me from this hour before this cause came I know this hour in John 13 a couple hours before his passing in John 16 Jesus in the upper room with his disciples but he's not focused on himself in John 13 instead he begins to wash the disciples feet John 13 one says now before the Feast of the Passover when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of the world he knew what was coming and he chose to wash their feet I mean you would think he's you know guys I'm gonna be crucified tomorrow could you guys did you guys take care of me tonight did you guys wash my feet could you guys minister to me I could do is think about them and John 14 he says I go to prepare a place for you and if I go I'll come again receive you on myself that where I am there you may be also he says in verse 16 I will send a comforter he will teach you verse 27 he says I will leave my peace with you in John 15 he says no greater love than this that a man laid down his life for his friends verse 18 13 verses from from chapter 15 verse 18 through chapter 16 verse 3 13 verses Jesus speaks to them of the trials the difficulties and the hardships that they will face in the world and how he's not going to leave them alone and he's going to send the Holy Spirit to be their comforter in John 17 the entire chapter is Jesus praying for his disciples John 18 he's arrested and then he goes off to his death and so we find here in Jesus's most difficult time most sorrowful and heavy time of his life grief that would kill the average person all he could do was care for his disciples that's the kind of God that we serve all night all Jesus had asked the disciples to do was to watch and pray with him it's the only thing he asked them to do and all they could do was sleep and in the night that he asked him to watch and pray that they would not be led into temptation all they could do is sleep so a little while times come sometimes we don't understand them but I can tell you God understands them and he cares there's no ounce of pain and suffering that you as a Christian face that God is not aware of and deeply concerned with and in conclusion and fourth thought I just want to give you tonight is Jesus will take our little wild times of sorrow and turn them into a forever joy he says in verse 16 a little while and you shall not see me but praise God it doesn't end there he says again a little while and you shall see me now theologians agree on the first little while when Jesus says a little while you shall not see me this referring to his death just hours away but they do not agree on the second a little while then you shall see me what does he mean in verse 16 what is this some say it was his resurrection others say it was his second coming I believe there are three aspects to this when he says you will see me initially I believe it was at his resurrection the death of Christ is its tragedy brought the hearts of the disciples to an incredible depth of despair but when he rose again three days later that her hearts were filled with just an unimaginable joy I mean just such an elated joy and he tells them in verse 22 he says in ye now therefore have sorrow he says but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you it's literally a joy that no one can take is what I would call a transcendent joy it is a joy that is not based on circumstance do you understand how powerful that is can you imagine having a joy not based on circumstance like no matter what the circumstance you remain with joy an unending joy and here's how that works is because our joy is not based upon circumstantial situations our joy is based on who yeah Christ he says because of me I'm gonna give you a joy I'm gonna give you a peace and a joy that the world cannot understand and cannot receive they don't get it they pill up they drink up they drug up because they don't they don't have me and so he's telling them there is a joy that is beyond what you can even comprehend I mean that's why they're in prison cells singing who does that nobody's ever done that in the history of the world nobody ever gets in prison and sings but they did in the Bible secondly I believe this also has the aspect of the joy that that God gave not only at his resurrection but the joy that he gave them through the Holy Spirit Jesus was with them after his resurrection for 40 days then he left them for 10 days and then he sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 to have the Holy Spirit in your life is to have Christ in you in Romans 8 verse 9 the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ Galatians 4 6 says and because ye are sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying Abba father and the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit gives us something Galatians 5 22 let's read this verse together if you would but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith and it continues to go on what's interesting is there is a definite article that precedes that whole list of fruits of the Spirit what that means is not isolated gifts that he gives you it's a bouquet he gives you all of them at once when you walk in the Spirit you get love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faithfulness weakness temperance self control you get all of that but if you don't walk in the spirit you walk in the flesh guess what you don't have you don't have others love you have self love you don't have joy you don't have bees you're not long-suffering you're not patient with people Romans 14 sevens for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Romans 15 13 now the God of hope that's so good the God of hope fill you you want to know somebody who is no that doesn't want to live anymore show me a person that has no hope and purpose the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost so so the the gift of the Holy Spirit that he sent them gave them a joy that was just supernatural and then the third aspect of this is his future return he said I go to prepare place and if I go I will come again and receive you into myself the joy of the New Testament was the future a return of Christ they knew that heaven was not on earth I think we get that confused sometimes because we like building sandcastles but they understood it I mean life was that bad for them it was that hard for them that they didn't they looked forward to heaven they long for Christ's return I think one of the most sad things is when somebody says you know I'm it kind of scares me thinking about the Lord's return like scares you the only people should scare is those who are not saved if you're saved that is our future joy and hope well what a blissful thought that the Lord would have come back yeah but my kids are still young praise God I'd rather have them with Jesus than here yeah yeah well you know I'd like to experience you know Mogin I'm sure tonight he's like Lord come back in like like Monday you know I don't know if I should say that out loud but I just did but he's like you know she's like come back hasten Lord no I'm teasing no no no I'm so excited for those guys they're so they're both so excited but we you know we sometimes get so think so excited about something on earth and think that that's where the joy is but but we have no concept of what true joy is on this side of heaven if we experience what is on that side of heaven and so the comfort Paul gave the people in Thessalonica in First Thessalonians 4 13 through 18 he he tells him he says listen you don't have to sorrow as those who have no hope for if we believe that would that Christ died those who he who are dead in Christ he's gonna bring with him he says he says for Christ will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with the trump of God the dead in Christ shall rise for us then we which are alive and remain we're gonna be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord so so the dead in Christ it says God will bring with him God's gonna bring them with him our loved ones you know every time you have a loved one die it makes heaven a little sweeter doesn't it you just you look forward that's our home folks I mean we're pilgrims on this side of heaven our citizenship according to the Bible is in heaven isn't that great you're a citizen of heaven and guess what there's no earthly governor president or political force that could ever remove your citizenship from heaven is that good news taxes are good in heaven here hey health care is real good in heaven you needed that hip replacement done you know hey man that was gonna be good in a John hey it's gonna be good man it's gonna be good some of us have have faced dear loved ones who some some parents have lost children some people who've lost children and childbirth and others who've had miscarriages and we heavens gonna be wonderful and and so Jesus says you know what I'm giving you a joy and he says I and he's telling them all of this he's telling them the promise of I'm going to prepare a place and I'm gonna come and receive you into myself that where I am there you can be also like I'm he's telling us that so that we can trust that and and put our hope there like attach it there the problem is people attach God's goodness based on temporary circumstances and God says base it on eternal joy in me now Jesus told the disciples here in John 16 listen you will be sorrowful your hearts will break he's telling them listen Friday you will mourn you're you're gonna you're gonna weep you're gonna mourn you're gonna you're gonna be be overwhelmed with that but the good news is Sunday's coming Sunday's coming going to heaven to the Father I'll send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you though I'm in heaven I'm coming again and what you see here is in this like triple layer reality is that it's like I'm gonna give you joy at the resurrection I'm gonna give you joy in the Holy Spirit and I'm gonna give you joy at my second coming I'm gonna give you joy now I'm gonna give you joy and 50 days from now and I'm gonna give you a future joy that you can look forward to if there's one word that defines heaven it's interesting when you study the Bible the one word that defines heaven is joy unending unceasing and uninterrupted joy and they're gonna be good like how's your day I'm filled with joy you you say well how can you experience joy if you don't have sorrow oh we've experienced sorrow and it's this side of heaven isn't it and and I believe that there's gonna be people say you know people in heaven don't know what's going on earth they don't remember any of that really is that what you think because the people who stood before Jesus says Lord when on earth did we see you when did and Lazarus and the rich man the rich man remembered his life on earth and and and and what did Abraham say they're gonna come from the east and west sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom right and also you see the souls under the altar saying Lord how long and just and true till you avenge our blood upon those who killed us on the earth according to Revelation I believe it's chapter 18 they knew what happened to them on earth that was painful and they knew that God's judgment had not yet come to those on earth also there's joy in heaven over what one center the repentance and so celebration is going on all the time and it amazing to think that heaven rejoice the day you got saved you're not saved heaven would abrupt with joy over your salvation that's the value of Christ saving your soul it's an amazing thing and so Jesus gives the example here in verse 21 he says a woman when she is in travail hath sorrow I always remember my wife I think it was on her third daughter I didn't realize how hard strong her grip strength was until that day I'm being dead honest with you I literally thought I'm gonna have like with a carpal tunnel or something you know my hand will be ruined and I said honey I said you got this just be tough and you want me to beat she just she's so sweet and she crushed my hand I said can I have an epidural right here can you just stick that bad boy right here you know he's right in the back of my arm I'll hang on baby I'll hang on I'm not sure what's gonna happen with my hand after this amen but you know a woman who's who's in that place they understand the pain of but let me ask you a question when a woman's going in to have a child are they so focused on the pain of the childbirth or they focused on the joy of that child that's coming you know what they're consumed with that child you know what a woman said oh I can think of as a man I'd be like man I'd be dreading that and I'll be just a man women don't think like that they're like boy I just I can't wait to have this baby I I'm so ready to have this baby I'm like I'd be like give me a few more days oh it's coming you know I mean oh man we'd be a mess wouldn't we guys yes we would there's always that guy oh I wouldn't have a problem with that well you're special give him an extra t-shirt after church you know but friends our life just like a mother who has that child she goes through suffering she and sometimes it could be 15 20 hours of just intense agonizing I mean what what woman if you didn't tell him what was going to happen you're like okay ma'am what we're gonna do you're gonna end up and they had no idea what pranks what what we're gonna do you're gonna have you're gonna gain at minimum 25 to 30 pounds over the next night you're gonna have a belly on you like this look like a basketball on the front of your stomach your backs gonna hurt you'll get sick perhaps every day for months you will you will not feel good you will you will get sick you have all these I mean just all this stuff your husband will not understand you will say insensitive things to you yeah can you bring me the tea can you you know so she's like I whoa I would not do that what would I do that for he says would you do it for a baby and she would say yep you said would you do it for a husband she'd say nope okay but she would do that for a baby you know why because of the love for that child and so in the same sense Jesus saying just as that mother has sorrow there's sorrow for a time but but don't focus on the sorrow don't focus on that pain that's not where that's not where our focus you see where the focus has to be you see that and he brings it into a real-life application in a present-day situation and saying a mother doesn't doesn't focus on that though that's a reality that's a real pain that's not her folk her focus is on the delivery her focus is on the child and so let us let us focus our eyes upon Christ and then the reality of heaven not about the present pain it's a future glory and if we understood by experience the magnitude of the glories of heaven we would mentally be lifted off in daydreaming world you understand if we saw heaven for a day we could not stop daydreaming we'd wake up and be like I dreamed about it again you ever had like a dream where like the Rapture happened or you're in heaven for a time and you're like is this it you know I mean and then you get woken up you know your daughter knocks on the door or something or somebody like ah you know go away I want to go back to the dream you know it's so awesome and but but the joy of seeing that would just be so overwhelming I think we would be if we saw heaven and knew what it was and felt the experience and saw that we would we would embrace the aging process we'd be like Lord let this come let the white here come let the body go let the let the teeth you know well like stay in there as long as they can but let you know let this process take place Paul said in Philippians 1 21 for me to live is Christ to die is gain he saw death is better he said in Romans 8 18 and I believe Paul saw heaven based on based on the book of Corinthians he says for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us he says in 2nd Corinthians 4 17 and 18 for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen it's eternal I think about even Christ in Hebrews 12 verse 1 he says wherefore seeing also we are also compassed about what so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight in the sin which does so easily beset us and let us run the race with patience that set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith and this is interesting who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the same you see where Christ's eyes were fixed it was not fixed at the pain of the cross it was fixed at the joy that was set before him he endured the cross he despised his shame and he set down at the right hand of the throne of God three things being heavenly minded will do God's goodness won't be based on the temporary but on the eternal secondly the issues pains and sorrows of life will not be our focus the glory of heaven will be death is not the end it's just the beginning and also we won't put all of our eggs in the basket of earth and in conclusion folks little while times come Jesus says they'll come pains real sometimes it's hard to understand them in our trials and struggles to understand it doesn't mean that Jesus doesn't care he does and he has done more for us than we would even realize in that suffering one day our little wild times of sorrow will be turned into an eternal weight of glory Jesus said no one can take that joy away it's going to be going to be unending and so tonight whatever my lot he has taught me to say it as well it is well with my soul amen it's all staying this evening maybe you're here tonight and maybe you're going through a challenge in life I would encourage you just to maybe you just need to come and pray at an altar or maybe at your seat but just take some time and say God help me to when you get through this season find your strength in Christ there is a transcendent joy that is offered to God's people when we focus on the trials boy it can hurt but when we focus on the joy that is before us it just lifts that you're here tonight and you don't know if you were to stand before God and God were to say why should I let you into heaven if you say I don't know what I would say to that I'm gonna be right down front what men and women down front I would love to have someone talk to you tonight and show you from the Word of God how you can be saved how you can know when your life's over you'll be in heaven you know the Bible says you can know when life's over you'll be saved you can know that for sure but that'd be great if you're here tonight you don't know that answer boy I'd love to have you come father we do thank you tonight for your word we pray that the truth of this text would be implanted into our heart verily verily I say it to you it's what you said to us thank you that you told us about little wild times thank you that you give us understanding thank you that when we don't understand we can trust you when that gap is there of our understanding and light of our present pain and thank you that you will turn our pain into a forever joy we rejoice in Christ you are our hope bring salvation to anyone tonight that doesn't know you we ask it in Jesus name