The
Glory
in
a Request
A
Study in the Gospel of John
Sermon prepared for the week
of
Dr.
Larry Thorson
First
Presbyterian Church,
Small Group Format
This sermon was prepared to be part of a six week
Lenten small group series course at the First Presbyterian Church of
Select One Person to be a Group Facilitator to keep the group focused on the questions and
activities.
Opening Prayer – sample provided or use your own
“Almighty God, thank you for your Word
and Your presence. May we grow together
in this time and come to a greater understanding of your Word and each
other. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
All Scripture in this study is taken from Today’s New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 International Bible Society
Read John 16:16 “Jesus went on to say, "In a little
while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see
me."
Comments: That sounds like a game I used to play with my children. What was it called? Oh yea, “peek a boo”. Now you see me, now you don’t.
Read John 16:17
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one
another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me
no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am
going to the Father'?"
Comments: The disciples were
confused by the figures of speech, but latched on to the phrase “a little
while”—perhaps because time can be measured and that at least might be
something concrete in the midst of what Jesus was saying. If they could get a time frame on whatever he
was talking about, it would be easier.
When Jesus talked about going to be with the Father, that was beyond comprehension. They knew he was referring to God as Father,
and one might go to be with the Father, but they didn’t come back. That was a
one way trip.
Discussion Question: What would be the most confusing for you about this prediction
of Jesus? Why?
Read John 16:18-19 They
kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand
what he is saying." 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him
about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant
when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a
little while you will see me'?
Comments: If
you’ve ever taught a class you can relate to Jesus’ experience with his
students at this point. “We don’t understand what he is saying”
they said. That’s when they give you
that blank look that says “I wonder what I’m going to have for lunch today” or
“I wonder when he’s going to stop talking.”
In verse 19 Jesus knew what they were talking
about. Could he tell by their whispers
and glances? Was he reading body
language or reading minds? Either way,
it shows that Jesus was very attuned to the concerns that his disciples
had. He knew he was speaking truths too
deep for ordinary people to get very quickly, and as long as their hearts were
right, as long as they demonstrated that they were genuinely seeking
understanding, he tried to clarify.
Jesus’ harsh answers were reserved for those who were asking questions
to try to get out of making a commitment to give their lives to God. His anger was reserved for those on deceptive
power trips. When we ordinary folk are
confused, he explains again.
Discussion Question: What do you usually do when you want to understand something but you can’t? A. Ignore it.
B. Challenge it C. Ask
questions D. Research the subject E. Assume the instructor is an idiot
Read John 16:20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and
mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to
joy.
Comments: In v. 20 Jesus starts by focusing on the
real emotional pain that happens when people who care for each other are separated. Jesus and the disciples had invested a great
deal in each others lives. All had
sacrificed to be together. They had cut
other ties so they could be together.
Jesus wasn’t being vain when he said they would
weep and mourn, he knew the real emotional pain that lay ahead. There would be fear—not knowing what to do as
the betrayal and mock trial began. There
would be horror at witnessing their friend and hero tortured to death. For a while they had been on the inside-the
close disciples of the popular teacher.
They were the ones who got front row seats for the miracles. That was about to end. There would be the shame of the Roman and
Jewish communities mocking them as they mocked Jesus. All this on top of the straight forward grief
of losing a close friend to death...in a time when the idea of eternal life was
debated. Some leaders believed in life
after death, many didn’t. But Jesus knew
how the story was going to end. …your
pain will turn to joy. So he switches to
an analogy that will make sense to them, a normative family experience that
will be familiar.
I’m reminded of the locker room saying “No pain, no gain.” I much prefer the other locker room saying
“No gain, no pain.” Forget the gain, I
hate pain if you have to go through the pain to get to the gain.
But that’s not what Jesus was saying. He promised “You will grieve.” He was talking to his disciples when he said
this and it was talking about his departure but it applies to us. “You will grieve.”
Last week we had a memorial service to celebrate the life of the
Reverend Stan Shaw, retired pastor who brought so many people to our church
through his Sunday morning Bible class.
Pastor Stan died a few days shy of his 91st birthday. He lived a long and very fully life. He left a legacy of a son who is a professor
at Fuller Seminary and a grandson who is a missionary in
Jesus promised his disciples “you will grieve.” That’s a promise you don’t often associate
with Jesus. But the writer of
Ecclesiastes says “There is a time to grieve”.
Saying good bye to someone you love is always hard even when you know
you’ll see them again. Every time at the
airport when we say good bye to my wife’s family in
“But your grief will turn to joy.” "In a little while you will see me no
more, and then after a little while you will see me." I like that perspective. When
we’re going through pain, it’s like it’ll never, ever end. Life is always going to be like this. But then when we’re going through a
particularly easy time like guys who have been retired for a few years and
they’re still young enough to enjoy it.
Feeling good becomes the norm.
Life is a pain but life is also a joy.
It just depends on what side of the see saw you’re on. If it wasn’t that way I’d just stay on my
sofa munching on corn chips and M&M’s instead of getting out and running. There’s going to be grief but then joy and
then grief and then joy. Next Jesus
gives an illustration of this from child bearing.
Read John 16:21
Discussion Question: What do you think about the idea of a mother forgetting the
anguish of childbearing when she sees her newborn baby? How does a mother’s childbearing experience
put pain, sorrow and joy in perspective?
Comments: My wife says this
was definitely written by a man, but his point remains true. The miracle of birth obliterates the
importance of the pain. God knows the
pain and joy of birth, because all creation was born of God. Frankly as a man I just can’t understand or relate to childbearing. I’m a number two child and I do not
understand why at age 37 my mother who already had experienced child bearing
once did it again. She says that’s why
my sister is five years older than I am.
It took five years to get over the pain.
It’s a good illustration of sorrow and joy. Once the mother sees her baby she forgets the
anguish. It’s the only way we have more
than one child per family. Well maybe
she doesn’t exactly forget the anguish but the anguish was worth all the
effort. It’s also a good illustration of
why God had women carry the baby and not men.
If men had the babies we’d be extinct by now and coyotes would rule this
land.
In Job 38:8,9; 28-29 we read "Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and
wrapped it in thick darkness. …Does the
rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the
ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard
as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.” And after giving birth to the earth, God knew great joy of the
new relationships with people and earth…and knew how quickly the children
become willful. The analogy of God our
Mother giving birth to the world is not a naïve sentimentality, but a deep
wisdom of the deep joy of loving relationships despite problems. But this new birthing of God will bring forth
a spiritual new life that God has been anticipating for centuries.
Isaiah 42:14 says "For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”
Even
back in the days of the prophet Isaiah, God was struggling to bring new life
into the world. God knows the body may
hurt, but it heals. The mental distress
gives way to love. The anguish fades
when we see the little angel…at least they look like angels when they’re
sleeping. And as a new human is birthed,
so God was birthing something new through Christ’s life, and the pending death
and resurrection.
Read John 16:22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but
I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Discussion Question: Can you describe a time
when some took your joy away? How were
they able to do take your joy away? What
kind of joy would be so great that no one could take it away?
Comments: At the end of the Super Bowl I have to confess I’m always envious of the
players and the coaches on the winning team.
Player after player will say the same thing, “This is the greatest
feeling in all the world.” Of course to
get that feeling they haven’t had a day off in probably a year. They’ve basically slept, eaten, showered,
dressed and thought football. Of course
their bodies are bashed, bruised and broken.
Of course they’ll be in agony the next year when they can’t win it
all. But for that night it’s the
greatest feeling. What is it worth it?
When we see Jesus, he says, we will rejoice and “no one will take
away your joy.” Understand the
magnitude of that promise. You could win
a ten million dollar lottery and have a joy that feels like it will never
end. But that joy would be gone in an
instant second if your child was killed in a car accident. It would be gone in a second if the doctor
told you that you had advanced stages of a fast moving cancer. Jesus said when you see him “No one will take
away your joy.”
Read John 16:23 In that day you will no longer ask me
anything. In what day? In that day when the
disciples see Jesus again. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until
now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and
your joy will be complete.
Discussion Question: What are your thoughts about asking God for stuff? What hesitations do you have making requests
of God?
Comments: That’s the same thing Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
7:7-10 7 "Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For
everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the
door will be opened. 9 "Which of
you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him!”
What Jesus is saying is that to see the glory of
God we have to ask for things in his name. But asking is hard for some of us to do. I was raised by parents who pulled themselves
out of poverty in the Great Depression by their own bootstraps and some
help. It’s hard for me to ask for help.
I read an article on asking for help recently by
Chuck Gallozzi, a motivational writer.[1] He asks why people stop asking for things in
the first place. He believes there are
two main reasons. One is because we’re
afraid the person we’re asking will say no. Secondly we’re afraid that we’re unworthy of the
request. That’s true in our relation to
God. But that’s exactly why Jesus came
to make us worthy before his father.
Chuck says we have to learn from our children and
pet dogs and cats. They live by the principle that it never hurts to ask. At our house sometimes our pets get a shoe
thrown at them but that’s just when they get obnoxious or demanding about
asking.
To experience the glory of God Jesus wants us to
learn to ask questions and to make requests.
We have to get past the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps”
mentality and ask. Otherwise we’ll never
experience the glory of God.
That’s what our elders are doing right now. They’re going around town talking to
organizations about partnering with us in rebuilding our
Concluding Comments
We have not because we ask not. Because we ask not we see not the glory of
God. That’s the beauty of being in a
needy position both as a church and as an individual. We learn to ask.
I conclude with nine things to remember when
asking taken from that same article by Chuck Gallozzi mentioned earlier. I have modified them for requests of God but
they apply to making a request of anyone.
1. Explain your need and desire for help.
Make a request, not a demand.
2. Accept refusals graciously. Thank them God
for their consideration. Don’t sulk. Show gratitude when you’re helped; show
understanding when the answer doesn’t come back the way you wanted it.
3. Don’t try to get what you want by
manipulation. By all means don’t try to make God feel guilty for refusing.
4. Don’t ask God to do what you can do
without his help. Show some initiative.
5. Don’t ask God for advice or suggestions
if all you want is to have him agree with your preconceptions.
6. Don’t make unreasonable requests like
make a rock too big for God to move.
7. Don’t be vague but be specific.
9.
Remain committed to your goals and don’t get discouraged when your
requests for help are turned down.
Joys and Concerns: share with one
another as you are comfortable starting with something like “Does
anyone have a joy they’re grateful for today or a concern that we can pray
about?”
Closing Prayer
– Pray for each other if you are comfortable doing so. You might want to close with the Lord’s Prayer below:
Our Father, who art
in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen
NEXT WEEK
The Glory in a Prayer
Read John 17:1-26
[1] © Chuck
Gallozzi For more articles and contact
information, visit http://www.personal-development.com/chuck