Walking Through Sorrow into Joy

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen online, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This message takes a look at the sorrow Jesus experienced through the final days and weeks of his earthly ministry and relates it to the text in Heb. 12:2 which speaks about the "joy that was set before him." In the Lenten season, this message attempts to encourage believers to follow in the steps of Jesus and realize that all sorrow is nothing compared to the joy that awaits.

Written Excerpts:

Hebrews 12:2 ^(NKJV)  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Introduction:

Before I begin the sermon I want to share a story I saw on the internet a few weeks ago.

Headline: “Lottery winner sues, says she was too young to handle money.”

The story is about a 17-year-old who says winning Britain jackpot ruined her life. To me, this seems to illustrate how twisted our world has become for some people to really think it is the government’s fault (or lottery commission) that a jackpot winner foolishly blew through millions of dollars and is now destitute.

The title of my message today is, “Walking through Sorrow into Joy,” but this lottery story seems to illustrate someone who “walked straight through hilarious joy right into sorrow.”

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. I felt the Lord leading me to present a message today related to this season when we are thinking about the path Jesus walked toward his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection and ascension.

When we study the messages, stories and actions of Jesus leading up to his voluntary sacrifice, we can gain plenty of insight into the kind of people we need to be. One of the subjects related to the journey Jesus took prior to his crucifixion is the subject of suffering and sorrow.

A few years ago on Palm Sunday I preached a message called, “The Weeping King.” It was a sermon based on the story of Jesus weeping over the city of Jerusalem as he descended the Mount of Olives on the “Triumphal Entry.” He clearly was expressing intense sorrow over what the future held for a city and a people who had been given so many opportunities and privileges.

That was not the only time we read about his sorrow. Listen again to the passage that was read earlier: Mark 14:32-34 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."

I can’t even begin to comprehend the depth of sorrow Jesus must have been feeling that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judging by the kinds of statements He made to His disciples during the Last Supper and even before, His sorrow had to include the realization that His closest followers didn’t really understand the truth about His mission.

But that night couldn’t have been the end of sorrow for the Savior. The ordeal he endured the next day with the sham of a trial, the flogging, and the crucifixion all would have produced sorrow upon sorrow. Yet, I’m certain the deepest sorrow of all was the sense of abandonment when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The primary text that I want to discuss with you this morning is found in Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:2    looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I want to talk a little while about the meaning of this phrase when it says Jesus endured the cross, despised the shame all because of the joy that was set before him.

Endured the cross – I think we all have heard numerous descriptions of what it was like to die on the cross. It was an excruciating death.

Jesus endured, persevered to the end – death.

Despised the shame - This is not [merely] the shame of dying a criminal's death but the shame of dying the death of a criminal who was accounted as accursed by God by his executioners (Galatians 3:13 ^(NKJV) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"); so also Phil. 2:8. "Despising (the) shame" does not mean that the shame was a small thing, but that, in comparison with the joy, Christ scorned to consider it. (Lenski New Testament Commentary)

This author is stressing the point that the shame Jesus despised was the “scandal” or “curse” that was associated with crucifixions. And, as he stated, it doesn’t mean that He merely viewed it as a small matter, but He actually scorned it; wouldn’t even consider it. Why? Because He knew the joy ahead.

For the joy that was set before Him – "The joy lying before him" is the glorification that followed the sufferings plus his kingship over all believers.... During his entire humiliation, especially when he was foretelling the cross, Jesus referred to his resurrection and the enthronement with his Father. (Lenski New Testament Commentary)

In the past I’ve read that some believed the phrase should have been translated, “…instead of the joy that was set before Him,” implying the same as Philippians 2 where “He did not consider His equality with God as something to be held onto, but humbled Himself to death, even death on the cross.” But here the sentence structure reads, “The joy that lay before Him” (not behind Him).

The joy that spurred Him on to endure the cross, the shame and the intense sorrow was based on His anticipation of the return to glory with the Father and to sit in authority and honor at His right hand. Jesus willingly walked the road of sorrow through each and every day that led up to His painful death and abandonment because He knew “joy was coming in the morning.”

(Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.)

Application to believers:

When Jesus calls us to follow Him, it includes sorrow in one form or another. There may be suffering, there may be rejection, and there may be other sources of sorrow that we have to face. These are all things that He told us to expect. But as we walk with Him through the valleys of sorrow, let us never forget that sorrow is not the end. Remember that Jesus walked through all His sorrow with His eyes focused on the coming joy.

Tyndale Commentaries - The linking of joy with suffering in this verse echoes a constant New Testament theme. Indeed on the eve of his passion Jesus spoke of his joy and of his desire that his disciples should share it.

John 15:9-11 ^(NKJV) "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 17:13 ^(NKJV) But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

Jesus knew the absolute joy and delight that awaited Him because He had shared the glory of the Father before coming to live among men. He also promised that His joy would remain in us and fill up our joy.

Sorrow is a normal part of life. And the Bible tells us that suffering rejection, persecution and opposition is a normal part of the Christian life. As we make every effort to walk in the steps of Jesus, let us keep our focus on the joy that is coming.

Yes, we certainly have a taste of that now as we fellowship with Christ and with His people, but there is coming a day when the joy will be “out of this world!”

Let us close the service by singing the hymn: All for Jesus

Enter Here

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen online, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This sermon is the sixth and final message in a series of sermons on the Kingdom of God. The theme of this message deals with the point of actually becoming a part of the Kingdom. It speaks about attitudes and choices that are necessary to enter through the only door to the Kingdom - Jesus Christ.

Written Excerpts:

John 3:3 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Introduction:

On 5 different Sundays now I have been preaching sermons about the Kingdom of God. I admit that I haven’t presented them in any type of logically consistent order, but I have been sharing various principles about the Kingdom of God primarily through the parables of Jesus. Today, I am going to conclude our series. There is probably much more that can be said about the Kingdom of God, but we have discussed a number of aspects taught in Scripture so we can save whatever remains for another time in the future. In our message today we are going to be looking at parables and comments of Jesus that speak about the way someone actually enters the kingdom of God. 

Friday morning I went to the Grove City High School to purchase a couple of tickets for the boys’ basketball district championship game up at Edinboro Univ. I’ve been in GCHS numerous times for ball games or other functions, but every time I’ve been there was a time when the school was expecting the general public, so the doors were unlocked and I just walked in. On Friday, however, it was during normal school hours and the doors were locked. Besides that, I didn’t know for sure which door would be closest to the main office, because I’d never had the opportunity to go to the office before.

I tried one set of doors, but couldn’t get in and didn’t see any intercom or other means of speaking with people in the office, so I tried another set of doors. Thankfully, this was where I found a little sign that indicated where I could find the buzzer to call into the office. After contacting the office on the intercom, the door was unlocked and I was able to enter. My search didn’t take that long, but it could have been even shorter if there had been a rather large sign that said, “Visitors enter here!”

This story of my little journey into the high school kind of illustrates a point regarding our topic today: There is only one door to enter the kingdom of God, (that is Jesus Christ) but there are numerous signs (instructions, conditions, steps) that lead us to the correct door.

With the help of God’s Spirit, I want to talk to you today about the various conditions that Jesus gave for those who wish to be a part of the Kingdom of God.

I looked up a number of Scriptures that clearly spoke about “entering the kingdom.” I knew we wouldn’t have time to discuss all of them, but I want to emphasize a few of them this morning.

I.    To enter the kingdom we must have a childlike spirit.

Mark 10:15 ^(NLT) I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Here Mark writes with a “double negative” so allow me to reword it as a positive statement. “Anyone who receives the Kingdom of God like a child will certainly enter it.” Meaning?

Lenski New Testament Commentary - The statement is astonishing in every way. We should think as, alas, so many did and do think that a babe must receive the kingdom as an adult does, but absolutely the reverse is true. The child is the model and not the [adult]. It is the unassuming humility and unquestioning trustfulness of the child that make it the pattern for all adults.

Another writer (Tyndale Commentary) adds the trait of guileless faith (i.e. trust without deceit, or deviousness).

A person does not find the door to the Kingdom in a spirit of pride, privilege or persistent doubt. We do not find the door when we’re preoccupied with our own importance and “goodness.” “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

We do not find the door if we allow persistent doubts control our decisions.  (Doubts do have a way of driving a person to seek after the truth, but eventually there must come a time to step forward in trust before the door to the Kingdom may be entered.)

II.  To enter the kingdom we must have a willingness to surrender competing affections.

Mark 10:23-25 ^(NKJV) Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The context of these statements includes the story of the rich young ruler who came to the Lord asking what he needed to do in order to “inherit eternal life.”

The word used for “riches” in this context is a word that literally means “matter,” “things” or “possessions.” It was most commonly used to refer to riches/wealth because of the wealth needed to have great possessions. (Notice it says in v. 22 the man went away sorrowful because he had “great possessions,” although that is a different word.)

He came to the Lord and asked, “What must I do?” But Jesus wanted him to understand, “Who must I be?”

In order to enter the Kingdom of God, I must be someone who has surrendered every other idol, every affection, and every ambition in order to be fully committed to following the Master. In this man’s case, his wealth was the one thing that prevented his total commitment to the Lord, so Jesus tells him what he must do – sell out and give to the poor.

Kyle Idleman – Like this man, most, if not all, of us will sooner or later be forced to choose between following Jesus or keeping something else that we love.

Mark 9:47 ^(NKJV) And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—

It’s better to live without something we think is essential than to fail to enter the kingdom of God and be lost for eternity.

Important to notice that Jesus did not say it was impossible for a rich man to enter. When asked about it, He replies, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.” People sometimes think that they will never be able to make the kind of commitment that Jesus requires, but God’s grace makes it possible!

III. To enter the kingdom we must experience a spiritual birth.

John 3:3-5 ^(KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

In this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus instructs him about the necessity to have a spiritual birth. I would describe this as what actually takes place in the heart and life of a person who has found the door to the Kingdom (Jesus Christ) and has stepped through the door. There is a dramatic spiritual transformation that takes place as that individual places his or her trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. Without that, “he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

1 Cor. 5:17 If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away and behold all things are become new.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ^(NKJV) Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Immediately after giving this description of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God, Paul immediately says, “and such were some of you, but you were washed… sanctified… and justified… by the Spirit of our God.” In other words, they had experienced a new birth! They had experienced a transformation by God’s grace.

Conclusion:

As we bring this message to a close, let me add this final thought:

Entering the Kingdom of God was never presented by Jesus or the Apostles as something that would be stress-free, without opposition and suffering or without cost. In Acts 14 we have an account of the Apostle Paul being stoned and “left for dead.” But he was revived and a short time later we read these words about him and his preaching partner, Barnabas.

Acts 14:21b-22 ^(NKJV) … they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

Jesus never gave the impression that entering the Kingdom was easy, but He repeatedly assures us that it is worth every sacrifice and the eternal rewards in His Kingdom far out-weigh any worldly pleasures. The eternal joy is immeasurably greater than eternal hopelessness and pain.

If you haven’t stepped through the door into the Kingdom by trusting in Jesus; if you haven’t truly been born again by the Spirit of God, then I urge you to come to Christ today.

Let’s all stand and sing the closing hymn: Jesus, I Come

The Great Separation

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen online, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is the fifth sermon in a series of messages on the Kingdom of God. This message references the parables of the Kingdom of God in which Jesus describes the separation that will take place between the tares and the wheat; the good and bad fish; and the wise and foolish virgins.

Written excerpts:

Matthew 13:24-30, 47-50 ^(NKJV) Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "

⁴⁷ "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV)  “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Introduction:

This is now the 5^th sermon in a series we have been doing regarding the Kingdom of God. We have already covered a number of topics related to the Kingdom:

·    The Old Testament basis for the Kingdom and other details such as: kingdoms have a sovereign ruler or king, the king rules over a dominion or realm, & the fact that God’s kingdom is both present and future;

·     The values of the world vs. the values of the Kingdom;

·     The infinite value or worth of God’s Kingdom and our investment in it; and

·     The ever-expanding growth of the Kingdom.

Today we are going to examine another feature of the Kingdom of God. This feature includes the sobering fact that there is a day of reckoning and judgment coming.

The parables we are discussing today about the kingdom of God each stress the truth that there is a great separation coming when there will be a division between the wheat and the weeds, the good and bad fish, and the wise and foolish virgins.

I would like to summarize the content of each parable and then draw a few conclusions for us to ponder.

Parable of the Tares (Weeds)

Not a parable about true and false believers in the church.

Jesus is talking about the world (v.38) with good seeds (true believers, “sons of the kingdom”) and the weeds (sons of the wicked one).

(Weeds were identified as “darnell” by most commentaries because it so closely resembles wheat in early growth.) The weeds look just like the wheat until it came time for the heads of grain to form, then it became apparent that they were weeds. (Just like people who haven’t been truly born again and filled with God’s Spirit can still imitate Christian behavior to some extent.)

“Enemy sowed the weeds.” In that region it was a crime to purposely sow weeds into someone’s crop field. The “sons of the wicked one” are not only headed for destruction themselves, but are used by the “wicked one” in an attempt to hinder/ruin the good seed or “sons of the kingdom.”

The owner allows both to grow together until the time of harvest when the weeds will be gathered and burned, but the wheat will be gathered in storage.

Jesus compares the harvest to the time when God will send angels to harvest the wicked and the righteous from the world. There will be a final separation with quite pronounced differences in their final lot (fire, weeping and gnashing of teeth vs. shining forth in glory).

Parable of the Fishing Dragnet

Tyndale Commentaries - The net is the large ‘dragnet’ which is drawn between two boats or by ropes from the shore, collecting all fish and other creatures within the area covered, which must then be sorted out to remove the bad, i.e. those unsuitable for eating. The reference, as in the weeds, is not primarily to a mixed church, but to the division among mankind in general which the last judgment will bring to light.

Jesus says this dragnet describes the separation of the wicked from the just. The wicked will be cast into the fire with wailing and gnashing of teeth. He doesn’t mention what happens to the just, but it is assumed that they are rewarded as indicated in the previous parable.

Parable of the Ten Virgins

This parable is not given at the same time as the two we’ve just discussed, but it was included in a later discourse by Christ about His second coming.

Lenski New Testament Commentary - These [virgins] were friends of the bride who went out from their homes with the necessary lamps, not to the bride's home, but to a place that was conveniently near. When the groom brought the bride out of her home, these virgins came forward and joined the procession with their lighted lamps and had their part in the feasting and the joy of the wedding in the groom's house…. In this parable the bride and her special attendants and the companions of the bridegroom are not mentioned because the [point of comparison] deals only with the bridegroom and with the action of these virgins.

The number ten is not accidental but symbolical. It denotes completeness. Thus we have Ten Commandments, ten talents (25:28), ten pieces of silver (Luke 15:8), ten servants, ten pounds, ten cities (Luke 19:13-17), an instrument of ten strings (Ps. 33:2), at least ten families needed to establish a synagogue, and ten persons for a funeral procession. These ten virgins represent all the followers of Christ during all the ages….

Lamps without oil are the forms of Christian life that are without the substance of this life; lamps together with oil are the forms that are vitalized by the true Christian life. Compare 5:14. We may call this oil spiritual life, faith with its works, even the Holy Ghost as some do. We prefer to think of faith and its works as being the flame of the lamp, the grace and the power of Christ in his Word as the oil, and the outward forms of Christianity as the lamps. We have the exposition in 2 Tim. 3:5: "Having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof." We must have both.

I won’t try to interpret all the points of the parable, except to offer these few observations:

1. At the end of the story, there is a final division between the wise and the foolish, similar to the separations that occurred in the previous parables. The wise get to go inside with the wedding party but the foolish are left on the outside, forbidden to enter.

2. The virgins were described the same in every way except in the level of readiness when the bridegroom finally came.

They were ready at the beginning, but they were not ready when the crucial time came to go meet the groom.

Those who did not remain ready due to a lack of oil, were shut out of the celebration with finality.

3. What does it mean to be ready with fresh oil? The condition of readiness appears to be further expanded with the next parable in the chapter (vv. 14-30).

Lenski New Testament Commentary – [The structure of the sentence in the original language indicates that] Jesus is still speaking of "the kingdom of the heavens" (v. 1) and is adding another resemblance….

In the parable of the Pounds [Lk. 19] we have ten slaves and ten pounds, to each slave one pound. The one pound given to each slave is the Word and the Sacraments which belong alike to each of us and can never be divided. In the present parable the number of the slaves is not important. The point stressed here is the diversity, one getting more, another fewer talents. This very diversity helps us to explain the talents. They are our abilities and gifts, of which each of us has his personal and different share. We may think of the spiritual gifts, but we must include the natural (sanctified as they ought to be by grace) faculties of mind and of body, position, influence, money, education, and every earthly advantage and blessing. They come to us from the same Lord as a sacred trust to be employed in his service….

In this he is a picture of all those in the church who for any reason refuse to use the gifts of Christ in his service.

The point of the parable seems to be that it is not enough to believe the gospel (as all ten virgins and all three servants would seem to represent), but we must be continuously ready for the coming of the bridegroom by using (investing) our gifts in the service of the Lord.

You might have heard this statement before: “Going to a church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you a car.”

A more appropriate analogy might be this: “Going to church and saying you’re a believer doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going into a fire station and saying you believe in fighting fires makes you a real firefighter.”

To be a firefighter, you must actually fight fires. You certainly need the special training and the correct qualifications, but you’re still not a firefighter until you actually go out and help put out fires.

We are not really Christian until we have embraced certain beliefs, and we actually practice the instructions of our Lord.

Failure to invest our gifts and abilities in the service of the Lord would not only make us like the one servant who buried his talent, but it would also make us like the foolish virgins who did not buy enough oil to keep their torches lit when it was time to go meet the bridegroom.

The sad consequence is… separation from all those who are ready.

Conclusion:

We have taken a look at three specific parables today, plus a brief glance at a fourth one.

The common theme in all three has been the concluding scene involving separation between the good and the bad; the righteous and the wicked; or the wise and the foolish.

These parables reveal the truth that Jesus not only offered love & grace to his listeners but he also warned of coming judgment – a day when there will be final distinction btw true & false, right & wrong, and between “kingdom accepter and kingdom rejecter.”

These parables reveal the same truth that is revealed at the end of God’s revelation – separation is final.

See Rev. 20:11-15 ^(NKJV) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

I want to close the service today by asking you the question that is asked in our closing hymn: There’s a great day coming… are you ready for that day to come?