John 16:33.

Jake Morris

[0:00] Amen. You guys go ahead and be seated. Once again, welcome to Village Church. If [0:04] you do not know who I am, my name is Jake and I serve on staff here at Village as [0:08] the Youth Director and I’m just so thankful to see each and every one of [0:11] you this morning. If you’ve been with us at Village for the past few weeks, we’ve [0:15] been diving into the book of Genesis and this has been a series where we’ve been [0:19] kind of taking on very large chunks of Scripture and so we’re actually going to

[0:22] take a break from that series for the next month and we’re going to be diving [0:26] into a series called Anchors and this is going to be a cool series for us to go [0:30] through as a church because we’re going to be going through four single verses [0:34] and these four verses that we’re going through are going to be the anchors that [0:38] we say we need for our lives. It’s those verses that we need to turn to the most [0:42] in those critical times in our life and the points where we need to see Jesus

[0:46] more clearly and today I get the joy of opening God’s Word with you to John 16 [0:51] 33. This verse for me has probably been one of the most helpful and encouraging [0:56] verses in my life. It’s been that verse that I’ve always gone back to when times [1:00] were good, when times were bad to remind me of who Jesus is and my encouragement [1:04] to each one of you this morning is that you walked in here after having a [1:08] complete week whether that was good or bad, whether life is great or horrible,

[1:13] whether you’re stressed or worried, you’re here this morning and my [1:17] encouragement to you is to take the next 25 to 30 minutes no matter where you’re [1:20] at, whether you’re close to Jesus right now or you would say if you’re honest [1:24] that you’re struggling or whether even if you don’t even know Jesus that you [1:28] can take the next 25 to 30 minutes and say Jesus you have my attention show me [1:33] through your word who you are teach me Holy Spirit what I’m supposed to know

[1:37] about you and then you will see him change you but let me read the verse for [1:42] us and then we’ll pray and we’ll get going. John 16 33 says this I have said [1:48] these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have [1:54] tribulation but take heart five overcome the world pray with me father I [2:02] thank you I thank you for the opportunity that we have before us this [2:06] morning another opportunity that we have to hear from you to hear your word got

[2:11] to pray for each person in here this morning I pray you will show us what it [2:15] means to truly have peace in you to truly find our rest in Jesus you got how [2:23] I live courageously for you pray you teach us because we are fearful people [2:27] but we believe that you can and you will move have mercy on us this morning [2:31] father it’s in the name of Jesus I pray amen let’s go ahead and dive right in [2:36] point number one Jesus is true peace in a troubled world Jesus is true peace in a

[2:42] troubled world if you’ve ever been to Lifeway or a Christian story you [2:47] immediately will get bombarded with what I call the greatest hits of the Bible so [2:51] if you’re looking on posters t-shirts anything you can see you’re gonna see [2:54] John 3 16 Philippians 4 13 Jeremiah 29 11 and it’s all these verses that really [3:00] make us feel better about ourselves that we can look at and immediately think of [3:04] God and that’s not necessarily a bad thing and I think this verse would fall

[3:08] into that category when we read it it’s just a very positive thing we’re talking [3:12] about peace we’re talking about hope we’re talking about overcoming and I [3:17] think it’s gonna be very easy for us to look at this verse and to kind of put it [3:21] on that Lifeway pedestal where you can put it on a billboard or you can put it [3:26] on a sign in your house but if we never get to the context of how Jesus said it [3:31] we’ll never truly understand what he meant when he said this verse and so

[3:35] what I want to do for us this morning is I want us to go backwards before we move [3:39] forward we need to see what Jesus was saying in the moment to the disciples [3:43] before we can ever hear what he’s trying to say to us through this passage and [3:47] interesting thing about this passage is that it falls not only in the very end [3:52] of Jesus’s life here on earth but it’s actually three chapters long of Jesus [3:57] giving this final charge to his disciples he’s about to go to the cross

[4:02] and these 14 through 16 that these verses are the ones that show that what [4:09] Jesus’s mission was what his mission for the disciples was and how they were to [4:13] move with God this is Jesus’s final charge to his followers and when we [4:19] read this verse with the first thing you get hit with as I’ve said these things [4:24] and so we have to ask the question what does he mean when he says these things [4:28] because it’s very interesting because if you just take the verse by itself you

[4:33] don’t really know what the these things are and so I think when we think about [4:37] it when we say what are the these things we’re gonna think very positive things [4:41] so here’s some of the things that Jesus does actually say in these passages he [4:47] says I have prepared a place for you John 14 3 if you’re a disciple that’s [4:51] encouraging for you because right now you’re pretty much homeless and Jesus [4:55] says guess what one day you’re not only going to be a part of my kingdom but

[4:59] you’re gonna have a home with me that I’m already preparing it for you it’s [5:04] gonna be fantastic that I’ve prepared a place for you John 14 12 he says you will [5:10] do greater works than me these men have seen Jesus raise the dead give sight to [5:15] the blind they’ve seen him restore people heal people change people and [5:20] Jesus looks at him and says you know all those things you’ve seen me do you’re [5:23] gonna see even greater things done through you because I’m gonna work

[5:26] through you that’s encouraging John 14 13 you will have unlimited access to the [5:31] Father in prayer what an encouragement for the disciples there that if Jesus [5:36] departs from them that they will have this constant conversation with the [5:41] Father that there’s not gonna be anything standing between them and the [5:44] God of the universe that they can have a conversation with God himself the [5:48] Father that led their people through the wilderness the one that called their

[5:54] people by name they have unlimited access to that Father John 14 16 I’m [5:59] sending my spirit to be your helper forever once again not only do they have [6:05] not only do they have full access to the Father but we have the final part of [6:09] the Trinity in this verse where Jesus says not only that but I’m sending my [6:13] spirit to be your helper that you’re not gonna have to walk through this life [6:16] alone ever again that I will be with you for the rest of your time until you

[6:20] enter into heaven’s gates a very popular verse in our culture John 14 18 I will [6:25] not abandon you as orphans but I will come back for you Jesus says don’t think [6:31] that I’ve left you because I’m never gonna leave you I’m never gonna forsake [6:34] you and guess what I’m coming back for you to take you to your kingdom to take [6:41] you to the kingdom of God John 15 15 and 15 16 he says two things you were my [6:47] friends and you are chosen what a beautiful moment for the disciples to

[6:52] realize that the God of the universe looks at them and he says you are my [6:57] friends and not only that he looks at him he says not only that but you’re [7:01] chosen these guys had really nothing to offer to the world a lot of them were [7:06] fishermen kind of pushed to the side cast away from this world but what Jesus [7:11] does he looks at him he says you’re not only my friends but I’ve chosen you to [7:15] be the men that lead the charge of taking my gospel to the world and telling

[7:19] the world about who I am John 16 12 he says no one can take your joy from you [7:25] it will be a full joy what an encouragement that is not only to the [7:29] disciples then but to us right now that no matter what happens in their life [7:34] that there’s this one thing that will never be taken from them and that’s [7:38] their joy in Christ that Christ promises them that you will be a full joy you [7:44] will not have a need for another joy that I will give it abundantly to you

[7:49] and finally my favorite promise of all John 16 27 he looks at the disciples and [7:54] he says you are loved by the Father how many times do we just need to be [8:00] reminded of that in our own lives and the disciples needed that same thing to [8:04] realize that they were chosen that they were friends but most importantly that [8:08] they were loved by the God of the universe and that he was not going to [8:11] let them slip friends that’s the Jesus that anybody can hang out with that

[8:16] anybody would go and follow him anywhere because he’s saying all these positive [8:21] things and when we read through passages like John 14 through 16 our initial [8:26] thing to do is going to take our highlighters and start highlighting [8:29] these verses which is not a bad thing these are promises that we need to cling [8:34] to as well but then there becomes another thing which is that’s not all [8:39] Jesus said and the other things that Jesus said kind of kind of have a

[8:43] different effect on us that will read them and it makes us uncomfortable and [8:47] so we kind of flee from it let me give you some examples in 1519 Jesus looks [8:52] at the disciples and he says this world hates you not only that he says in 1520 [8:58] if they persecuted me they will also persecute you so not only do they hate [9:03] you but they’re gonna hurt you but he doesn’t stop there he says not only are [9:08] they gonna hurt you they will kill you in my name 16 too that they there are

[9:13] going to be people who kill the disciples thinking they are doing a [9:18] service for God himself and the next thing that Jesus says in 1620 he says [9:24] you will weep and lament while the world rejoices that the world will say this is [9:29] what God would want for these men to be dead and they will be thankful and you [9:34] will be weeping for each other and then probably the most frightening of the [9:40] which this verse is 1632 it comes right before Jesus looks at the disciples and

[9:46] he says I’ve said these things to you that in me you might have peace Jesus [9:51] says two things to him and makes promises he says first you will all be [9:54] scattered from each other meaning that you will abandon each other these are [9:59] his disciples they’ve walked with Jesus they’ve seen him do so many things and [10:05] Jesus looks at him and says you will abandon each other in this but then the [10:08] verse one of all right before he goes into the verse of today he says you

[10:13] will not only abandon each other but you will abandon me and so we look at [10:22] this verse and we say these are the these things that Jesus says and he [10:28] ultimately says them for the purpose of what peace and I think our initial [10:33] reaction to this is to kind of push back and say if I was one of the disciples [10:37] the first thing I’m saying is Jesus how can I have peace when you said this [10:42] world hates me and not only do they hate me they’re gonna try to persecute me and

[10:46] ultimately they’re gonna kill me and then they’re gonna mock my death and the [10:50] other people that are with me are gonna lament it that I’m gonna abandon my [10:55] brothers that I’ve been with for the past few years and ultimately I’m gonna [10:58] abandon you how can I have peace in that because so quickly what we do is we take [11:06] this verse and these passages and we’ll so quickly focus on the negative that [11:10] we just so quickly forget the positive that we just mentioned because that’s

[11:14] where our hearts go and so when we’re looking at this verse what we have to [11:19] understand is what Jesus was trying to get the disciples to know and what he’s [11:23] trying to get us to know in the same passage and that is that peace never [11:26] comes from the circumstances of life peace always comes from a person peace [11:31] never comes from the circumstances of life peace always comes from a person [11:36] John 14 27 Jesus says this peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as

[11:43] the world gives do I give to you let not your hearts be troubled neither let [11:48] them be afraid see what Jesus is saying there is he saying that inside of us [11:53] we’re gonna have this desire to try to create our own peace that we’re gonna [11:57] look at this world and we’re gonna try to find peace in this world and the [12:00] things of this world and what we do there is we kind of go with these highs [12:04] and these value lows and we ride these waves where we’re really up here that we

[12:08] can believe in the peace of Jesus we have peace and hope in Jesus but as soon [12:12] as we start to go down we start to crash and we start say I have no peace and we [12:17] try to fight and struggle to find peace anywhere and everywhere and Jesus says [12:21] you need to stop riding the wave of peace and follow me and let me be the [12:25] steady hand let me be the steady piece that no matter if you’re at the highest [12:29] point of your life or the valley low of your life it doesn’t matter because my

[12:33] peace remains the same because it’s not found in you it’s found in me it’s not [12:37] in your circumstances it’s in a person himself and that’s the reason that Jesus [12:43] can look and he can say that you don’t have to worry and you don’t have to be [12:47] afraid because you’re not trusting in yourself for peace you’re trusting in [12:51] him that he said all of these things to the disciples so that in him they might [12:55] have peace and the disciples needed to hear that because the next thing Jesus

[12:59] says as scary as the first thing was is even more terrifying to us and that’s [13:04] point number two this morning Jesus warns that troubles will come Jesus [13:09] warns that troubles will come next part of the verse it says in this world you [13:13] will have tribulation the word tribulation is kind of interesting [13:17] because I think we think of that term in this big idea so when you think of [13:22] tribulation you think of probably the worst possible scenario in your life the

[13:27] worst possible thing that could happen and the word used here doesn’t mean just [13:31] the big things it actually covers a lot more ground it means oppression [13:35] affliction and distress so what Jesus is saying here is that it’s not just the [13:41] big struggles it’s the little struggles it’s the daily things that we struggle [13:45] with that are tribulations not just the big things but Jesus looks at the [13:51] remember what I just told you remember I told you that in me you can have peace

[13:56] even through all these things both the good that you’re gonna experience in me [14:00] and then the bad that you’re gonna experience that I am your steady hand of [14:04] peace I want you to remember that because trouble is coming and it’s coming for you

[14:11] and when Jesus says that he does not just saying that to the disciples he’s saying that to us and [14:17] many of us respond to Jesus in a strange way when we accept Christ we believe that when we accept [14:24] Christ that it means that no troubles or sorrows will ever come our way again that that was in the [14:29] past that yeah I struggled and I was sorrowful in the past but Jesus has come and we have that [14:37] come to Jesus moment and everything changes but then we find out a couple weeks later that the [14:43] circumstances didn’t change my heart just changed and now I’m dealing with the consequences of that

[14:50] and all this time we believe the lie that there is salvation with no struggle and there’s faith [14:56] with no tension but friends let me tell you I think it even goes a step further because I think [15:01] if we were honest with ourselves and we had the opportunity for Jesus to look at us and just pat [15:06] us on the back and tell us that everything was gonna be okay even if it was a lie that we would [15:12] look at him and say can you please do that because we just want to be comforted even if it’s a false [15:17] security but the most loving thing Jesus could do in this situation was not to lie to his disciples

[15:23] it wasn’t to tell them that things would be better than they were the most loving thing Jesus could [15:29] do in that situation and the same for us is to warn us that troubles will come it’s not a question [15:34] of if they will it’s when if you don’t have it now you’re probably gonna go into it soon and if [15:40] you’re coming out of it it’s gonna come back you might say Jake how can you be so sure that [15:46] there’s problems will arise how can you be so sure that my life right now even though I’m in a pretty [15:51] good place is gonna turn bad that something will go wrong in my life I can tell you because of sin

[15:58] because of the condition of sin on this world and because we live a dual existence within this world [16:04] as Christians so on the first side you have your relationship with Jesus that you’ve been [16:09] washed by the blood of Jesus you’ve realized that you are sinful that he’s glorious he’s victorious [16:15] and then you say I accept him and you gain eternal life but you don’t just gain eternal life you gain [16:22] a hope that will never go away you gain a peace that nobody can ever shake and you have a glory [16:28] you have a life that you can never lose and you’re awaiting you with eternal life with him forever

[16:33] but we quickly forget that at the same time we have a dual existence where we live in this world

[16:40] and our existence in this world creates a hostile pressure towards that existence so what the world [16:47] will do is it will look over on that side and it will say you see over here where he says you can [16:53] have peace he’s lying to you that’s not true peace that’s not real hope that’s not real joy you need [17:01] more money you need sex you need fame you need anything and everything but what Jesus is saying [17:06] because he is lying to you don’t you see it and then on the other side we have Jesus pointing [17:14] over to the world and he’s saying stop believing what they’re saying they’re lying to you and we’re

[17:20] caught in the middle and some of you might even be here this morning where you’re saying I just [17:24] wanted to stop I can’t take it anymore the struggles too real it’s becoming too much and [17:33] then on top of that when we think about this world we we know one thing’s for sure that we’re all [17:37] going to die we don’t know how we don’t know when but it’s going to come for us and in this moment [17:45] we look at Jesus and we say why is there such conflict and we need a steady hand and what Jesus [17:53] is trying to get the disciples to understand here is that you will never have that peace without

[17:57] first understanding what’s coming for you but ultimately he doesn’t leave us there because if [18:03] this verse was just I’ve said these things to you that in me you may have peace in this world you [18:09] have tribulations period that’s not very hopeful right that’s not something that we would put on [18:16] our hearts and remember because there’s no hope there it’s just we’re gonna have tribulations [18:23] but I praise God that he doesn’t end there that this next part of this verse is critical that’s [18:28] point number three this morning Jesus gives courage to the weak through his victory it comes in these

[18:34] two phrases but take heart and I’ve overcome the world the first phrase but take heart it [18:40] literally means to be courageous or to take up courage what I love about this phrase is that it [18:47] is only ever said in scripture by Jesus or God himself one of the most famous examples of this [18:54] is when Jesus comes out on the waves and he’s walking on the water towards Peter and he calls [18:59] him out on the boat and we know the disciples look out and they are literally terrified at what [19:04] they see because there’s somebody walking towards them on the water and Jesus looks at the disciples

[19:10] and he says it is I take heart do not be afraid and in the same instance here Jesus realized that [19:19] what he just told them would terrify them that troubles are coming and they’re coming for you it [19:24] terrifies us when we think about it it makes us uncomfortable and it made them uncomfortable [19:28] and Jesus knew that so in this moment Jesus looks at me he says take heart be courageous as he had [19:35] so many other times when fearful conditions came up with the disciples but notice that he says take [19:41] courage but it’s not in the disciples it’s in him the second part I have overcome the world the word

[19:49] here for overcome is actually pretty popular in our culture the term Nike actually comes from this [19:54] original word which means victory but it not only means victory it means to conquer or prevail [20:01] and so what Jesus is saying here is he saying I’ve said all of these things the good and the bad so [20:07] that in me you might have a constant peace that in this world troubles are going to come for you [20:14] but you can be courageous not because it rests in you but because it rests ultimately in me and my [20:20] victory because I have become victorious I have prevailed I have conquered over this world

[20:28] one of my favorite parts of this passage is if you notice Jesus says he’s overcome the world [20:32] before he ever goes to the cross that Jesus looks at the disciples and he says I have already won [20:39] before he ever even went to die and you might say how can he say that because before time began [20:45] Jesus had set up this redemptive plan where he said I am going to redeem a people for myself [20:51] and Satan can’t stop it hell can’t stop it and even you disciples cannot stop it because I win [20:58] Satan loses in the kingdom of God reigns and Jesus could say that confidently in this moment

[21:04] because he knew that he was the victor and in this moment I think this is where we would love to see [21:11] a change in the disciples if we were watching this like a movie we would hope that the disciples [21:15] would look at Jesus and say Jesus you’re right we don’t want to abandon you we don’t want to [21:20] abandon each other we have a victory in you that we can never have we have a peace in you that this [21:25] world cannot give Jesus we’re gonna be with you till the end but if you know anything about the [21:31] story it happens exactly like Jesus said it would and one of the most hurtful ones comes from Peter

[21:38] himself Peter a disciple of Christ was in his inner circle he saw Jesus do so many miraculous [21:44] things he saw him transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration he saw his glory and Peter at [21:50] one point before Jesus dies looks at him he says Jesus I will never abandon you and Jesus looks [21:57] at him he says Peter you’re gonna deny you even know my name three times and what we know is that [22:05] Peter does exactly that they ask him in a courtyard weren’t you one with Jesus and he says I don’t [22:11] know what you’re talking about you have me mixed up with somebody else and the disciples scattered

[22:16] and then Jesus is left alone to suffer and die alone it happened exactly like he said it would

[22:27] but luckily the story doesn’t end there that there’s a greater reality on the other side of [22:32] the cross because we know that Jesus was put in a tomb but three days later he rose from the dead [22:37] and he appeared before the disciples he appeared before Peter he taught them more and then he [22:44] ascended in the heaven and he built his church then we get into the book of Acts and we have [22:49] this moment that I want to turn your attention to this morning in Acts 4 what happens here is [22:55] the church has begun to really build and the disciples are going out and proclaiming the

[23:00] gospel proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and God and that he rose from the dead and there’s an [23:05] instance here in Acts 4 where they heal a man in the temple and the Sadducees who didn’t believe [23:13] in the resurrection at all the ones who killed Jesus brought Peter and John before the council [23:20] and they ask him one very important question they look at him and they say by whose authority do [23:27] you heal this man and it’s in that moment that Peter speaks up and this is what Peter says let [23:34] it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of

[23:40] Nazareth whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by him this man is standing before you [23:46] well this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the corner [23:53] and there is salvation and no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by [24:01] which we must be saved friends this is the same Peter who before the crucifixion looked and he [24:09] said I don’t even know that man and now he’s standing before the same people who crucified [24:16] him and he says I don’t care by the way you killed God but guess what he’s still reigning and he’s

[24:26] still victorious that there’s nothing that could stop him and that this Jesus whom you crucified [24:33] he’s now both Lord and God and there’s a day coming where everyone including you Sanhedrin will [24:40] confess that he is Lord and God and there’s nothing that can stop it not even you

[24:47] friends my question for you is what changed what changed in Peter to get him from the point where [24:52] he denied Jesus to the point where he was willing to die and ultimately did die for Jesus and my [24:59] plea with you is that his boldness came not from within himself we can look at Peter’s life and [25:03] look at the past and say he definitely had no boldness or peace in himself he had no courage [25:09] in himself when times got tough Peter just ran from Jesus he ran from anything to do with Jesus [25:16] because he became afraid how many of us can relate to that when in times in life when we hit our

[25:22] toughest point when we feel we’re at our breaking point and we look to Jesus and then we just run

[25:30] but what we see in Peter here is that Peter no longer runs because he’s had an encounter with [25:34] resurrected Christ that he’s seen that when Jesus said that I have the victory that I have the [25:41] victory over everything and that he no longer has to be afraid of anyone because he knows the [25:47] greatest defeat in his life has been overcome by Jesus and that sin and death and because of that [25:53] he can now go and proclaim the gospel without any worry or fear because he knows the risen [26:00] victorious King and friends it’s gonna be the same for us that Jesus makes the even least

[26:08] courageous person into the fiercest warrior not because that person maybe it’s you is strong in [26:15] themselves it’s because they know the victor you see Jesus gives us here a victory plan to follow [26:23] Jesus tells us we can look at his life the first thing we can look at a life that he never sinned [26:30] that he never strayed from God’s Word he actually fulfilled the entire law it says he never sinned [26:37] he never walked away he stayed the course and he did that for us so that we could look at him and [26:42] say that’s victory in life he conquered life but then we can look and we can see him being

[26:49] crucified and beaten with his beard ripped out and a crown of thorns slammed on his head and we [26:54] can look at him and say not only that but my sin was put on his shoulders and the sins of anyone [27:00] that would come to him for all time are on his shoulders and he bared it alone and the wrath of [27:08] God is poured out on his son but in that we can know he’s victorious over sin because he’s the [27:19] the story once again doesn’t end there that we can look to an empty tomb in Jerusalem and we can see [27:25] a stone is rolled away and there’s linens there we can go back to the story where the angels look at

[27:31] the disciples and they say he’s not here he’s risen just as he said you can come look but he’s [27:38] not right here and in that the disciples and us in that moment can know that Jesus is victorious [27:45] over death death does not have a hold on us anymore because of him and finally friends when [27:52] we are at our toughest point when life is just so dark we can be like Stephen in the book of acts [28:00] as he’s about to be stoned there’s this point where he looks up and he says I can see the [28:05] lamb of God Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the throne of God and what that means is

[28:11] we can look up in those moments and remember that Jesus is reigning that he’s not dead [28:16] that he’s alive and that means that he’s reigning over this world bringing all things together for [28:21] his good and his glory and nothing can stop him not even death so I have nothing to fear anymore [28:30] praise God that we can look and we can look at Jesus’s life and say victory you can look at [28:35] his death and say victory we can look at his resurrection and say victory and we can look [28:39] at him reigning right now we can say victory victory victory he wins every single time

[28:46] and because he does not lose I know that I can go into any situation in life [28:51] whether it’s good or bad and I can go in knowing my king is victorious and that although I have no [28:58] peace inside of myself I can have peace in him because he’s victorious even though I have no [29:03] courage in myself to be able to face this I can have courage in him because he is my victorious [29:09] risen king and churches we wrap up this morning this command of Jesus is very easy for us to [29:18] believe when life is going great when everything in our life is matching up exactly how we thought

[29:24] it would when every ship falls in the place we can look at this verse and say amen he said these [29:30] things to me that I could have peace in him that yeah I’ve faced tribulation but it’s good now [29:35] he’s overcome praise God but it’s going to be a very different scenario this week if you go to [29:42] the doctor for a typical appointment and they come back to you and say hey we need to check this out [29:47] something’s not right and this might be bad what happens tomorrow when you walk into your boss’s [29:53] office after you’ve worked there for 10 years and he says I’m sorry but I have to let you go

[29:58] what happens when your marriage that you thought was perfect suddenly starts to crumble before you [30:05] and you wonder what God is doing what happens when those children that acted so perfectly [30:11] for 10 seconds suddenly become the most sinful thing you’ve ever seen

[30:19] and you say God what are you doing what happens when that anxiety and depression that you’ve put [30:25] off slowly begins to build and build and you get to the darkest point you’ve ever been and you say [30:29] God surely has abandoned me in his promises and the whole time we’re screaming out God I thought [30:37] that you said you were victorious but right now all I’m seeing is defeat after defeat after defeat [30:44] and I don’t understand Jesus help me help me to see you and friends let me tell you it’s in those [30:53] moments that Jesus looks at us and he says the words of this verse to us that he looks at us and

[30:57] he says I want you to remember something the book of Hebrew says that he was tempted in every way [31:03] as we are and he was made like us in every respect that we don’t have a king we don’t have a Jesus [31:08] that just says I feel bad for you like everybody else can but he can honestly look at us and he [31:13] can say I have felt your pain to the deepest emotional level I felt your pain so that you [31:21] could not look and say no one understands no one gets it Jesus looks at you he says I get it I [31:27] understand I love you I care for you stop chasing after things in this world and trust me

[31:33] that I have you and I’m not letting go of you even as dark as it seems and in those moments [31:39] when I’m at my darkest I can look and I can remember that there’s a God walking through this with me [31:44] this is God fighting for me that has already won the biggest battle of my life by defeating [31:50] death on my account and now no matter what I face in this life I can walk into it saying I know who [31:55] holds the victory and therefore I’m going to march for my king so friends I encourage you this morning [32:01] to write this verse on your heart because there’s if you don’t need it now you will need it down the

[32:07] road and you will need it quickly and you will so easily forget the promise that God gives us here [32:12] do not forget his promise do not forget what he said remember that in Jesus you were no longer [32:17] defined as a victim but in Jesus you were defined as a son or daughter of the victorious king [32:24] and because of that I and you as well can march for our king and we can take this first to heart [32:31] and we can say no matter what comes I know I have victory because Jesus said I have said these things [32:36] to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have tribulation but church you can take

[32:43] your heart because he’s overcome the world as the band comes up

[32:51] there’s two different scenarios that you’re in this morning [32:55] the first scenario is as I’ve been talking you’re like Jake if I’m honest [33:00] you’re right I don’t have that peace I don’t have that victory I feel like I’m walking in defeat [33:06] constantly and I need to know that Jesus that I’ve never experienced that love I’ve never [33:13] experienced that grace that forgiveness of my sin and that’s what I need and if that’s you this [33:19] morning I encourage you as we go into our time of communion don’t sit in your chair go out to the

[33:24] four-year I’ll be out there and other leaders will be as well come talk to somebody don’t walk out [33:29] this door still in defeat but you can walk out in victory you can walk out that door knowing your [33:34] king this morning but for those of you in here that do know Jesus that claim his victory in your [33:42] life let me ask you in what ways are you still living in defeat that Jesus is telling you you [33:46] need to walk in victory what are the places that if you were honest with yourself you say I’m not [33:51] trusting in him enough that I need to remember his victory because it’s dark right now but I

[33:55] have to remember that God is light friends let me encourage you that we have to remember that we’re [34:01] fighting for a victory anymore in Jesus but we’re fighting from his victory that we don’t have to be [34:08] afraid we don’t have to worry because we have a king who is victorious and this morning you can [34:13] declare that with communion we have tables all around this auditorium I encourage you to come [34:18] when you eat of the bread which represents the broken body of Jesus and you eat a drink of the [34:22] cup which represents his shed blood that you come not as a defeated person but as one who knows that

[34:28] this is just another sign of his victory over your sin and you can eat and drink to his glory [34:35] saying Jesus thank you that in you I have rest and eternity and ultimately victory so when you’re [34:42] ready come and declare the death of our victorious king