He Has Overcome the World

Title:  He Has Overcome the World By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text:  John 16:33 “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, for some reason words from an old country western song came to me as I studied this text.  They are: “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden.”  Then I came across the words again in an old movie.  The movie is about a girl who struggles with the help of a psychiatrist to emerge from an imaginary world and to enter the world of reality. But it’s a real struggle. At one point, the girl throws a bitter remark at her doctor. She cries out: “What good is your reality when justice fails and dishonesty is glossed over and the ones who keep faith suffer?” The doctor responds quickly and just as emphatically: “Look here, Deborah, I never promised you a rose garden. And I never promised you peace or happiness.” Somehow that didn’t really comfort Deborah.

I. In a way Jesus is saying something similar when He says: “In the world you will have tribulation” to His disciples.

A. One of the things that impresses me about Jesus is that he is a realist about life in this world.

1. He never promised them and he never promised us a rose garden. He never promised that life would be easy or that it would be painless.

a. In fact, almost from the day they began to follow Jesus, the disciples were in trouble. Much of the New Testament was written from prison cells. Few, if any, of the disciples died natural deaths.   b. No, Christian discipleship did not involve a rose garden. That was not the promise!

2. That word Jesus used, “tribulation,” is borrowed from the farm. When a farmer threshed his wheat, he used a “tribulum,” a contraption made of wood and rope which he used to beat down upon the stalk to separate the wheat from the chaff. That’s a dramatic image isn’t it? It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Often in life, you and I are going to take a beating.”

a. And there are no exemptions from that, not even for us Christians. Pain, difficulty, and struggle – those are normal experiences and they come to us all. We were never promised a rose garden, a painless, easy, totally successful and utterly enjoyable life.  And, anyone who promises you that is what the Bible calls “a false prophet.”   b. The Greek Orthodox Church has a unique way of illustrating this. In that Church, when a child is baptized….and by "child," I mean a real infant ….after the baptism has been performed, the priest takes the large pectoral cross that is suspended on a chain from his neck and forcibly strikes the child on its chest. The blow is so hard that it leaves a mark….so hard that it hurts the child….and so hard that the child screams. They give the child a whack. What gives?    I'll explain what gives. The symbolism of our Orthodox friends is clear. They are suggesting that any child baptized into Christ must bear the cross….and the cross is not a sign of ease, prosperity or success, but a sign of sorrow, pain and even death.    Like those Greek Orthodox babies, we Christians should not be surprised when trial and tribulation bubble up in the ebb and flow of life's river. Nor should we be seduced by phony versions of the Christian faith which suggest that once we have it, we are immune to trouble. "In this world you will have tribulation." None of us has been dealt a "get out of tribulation free" card. None of us.

B. And you’ve undoubtedly heard the questions or perhaps have asked them for yourselves, “If there is a God why does He allow….” Fill in the blank for yourself.

1. We have no simple answer. All we can say is it is the way God wishes to do things.

a. He allows the city of Man to decay and collapse under its own idolatries. Sufferings are visible all over the world.   b. And when such things happen to us, our first reaction is to ask, “Why me?” But, don’t you see, such a question comes out of a rose garden picture of life. A better question is, “Why not me?” because the experience of difficulty in life is part of living in this world!

2. Maybe one reason God allows this tribulation can be seen, though. Now you need to know that I am not big on amusement parks, given that I no longer do "heights," nor do I any longer do "fast." But one ride does intrigue me.  It’s the Rotor. Not that I’d ever ride it but it is so theologically descriptive.    The Rotor works on the principle of centrifugal force. It's like a circular barrel. You ride it standing up with your back pressed against the barrel wall. Then it starts spinning….slowly at first….then faster and faster, until all that passes before your eyes becomes a blur. And the increasing speed of the rotation forces you against the wall….pins you against the wall, really. Which is a very good thing (being pinned against the wall, I mean). Because the floor drops away, leaving your feet with nothing to rest on but air.    So you can see how the Rotor becomes a mirror of real life. There you are, on the ride of your life, and suddenly the floor falls out. Things on which you stood with confidence suddenly are gone.   Maybe God allows tribulation because it’s a bit like the Rotor Tribulation drops the floor out of all the things we tend to trust in this world.  It’s designed to drive us to the only thing we can really trust.  The only thing that goes beyond this world.

II. That’s why Jesus goes on in our text: “But take heart; I have overcome the world."

A. At the cross, Jesus faced the worst that life can do: betrayed by a friend, abandoned by his followers, put through a mock trial on trumped up charges, ridiculed, tortured, beaten, and then killed.

1. The power of evil in this world nailed Jesus to the cross and left him there to die. He knew about life’s tribulations all right.   2. But the power of evil did not have the final word – he did!

a. On that first Easter he rose from the grave and conquered those evil powers. Jesus has overcome all the evil of the world on that cross.  "I have overcome the world. I leave the world not in defeat and death, but in victory."   b. He rose and is called the First fruits of the dead; implying many will follow.  In a way you could call us the “second” fruits or those who come after Him.

B. Christ's victory is given to us in his Word, in our Baptism, and at his Table, that we might have peace in him.

1. The sin that separated us from God is forgiven.  We are reconciled to the Father; that is peace. The Means of Grace renew this to us every day.   2. But also we can note two things that Jesus did for His disciples at the Last Supper on the evening of our text. These two things He does for us too.

a. For one, He gave them the gift of Holy Communion. In that Sacrament, He gave them His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Although they would not be able to see Him face to face, He would still be with them to the end of the age. The Lord’s Supper is how Jesus is present with His people even today.  This is how He gives us forgiveness, life and salvation.   b. But here, in our text today, He reinforces another gift: the gift of prayer.  Until He returns in glory, this is how we speak to our Lord.

-- Now, prayer is an oft-misunderstood gift among Christians, we must remember that prayer is not a means of grace – not like the Word, baptism or the Lord’s Supper.  It’s not something through which God’s gifts are given, but it’s a response to the grace we received in the Word and Sacraments.   --- As we respond to the grace we have received, we have Jesus’ promise that He hears our prayers. He doesn’t pick and choose which calls to return.  He doesn’t send most of your petitions to the junk-mail file. He hears and honors each one, and promises to answer every prayer that is prayed in Jesus’ name. He delights to hear and answer every prayer prayed in Jesus’ name. You can’t bother the Father in heaven in prayer enough.  He’s not bothered by prayer.   ---- “In Jesus’ name.” That’s the key phrase. That is what the promise and gift of prayer rely on. We pray in Jesus’ name. We go before the Lord in prayer by saying, “We are terrible sinners, and we are not worthy of Your grace or mercy or help. Therefore, we do not ask You to help us because we’re deserving. No, we ask You to hear us and to help us because Jesus has died for our sins and risen again for our salvation.  Help us because Your Son has shed His blood to make us Your children.” That is what it means to pray in Jesus’ name.   ----- Now, let us be clear: I do not mean that every prayer is good as long as we attach the three words, “in Jesus’ name,” at the end before the amen. Nor do I mean that an otherwise good prayer goes unheard because we fail to end it with those three words. This is not some sort of magic phrase. But it’s a reminder that any connection with the Father comes through Jesus’ work for us.   ---- You will be tempted to pray on your terms: “Heal me now!” “That job is perfect for me, so get it for me!” “Save this relationship!” “Save this life!” But God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His will is always best, and He often works through hardship to do us good. And while you may not see the benefits of His answers in the short-term, you have His promise that He hears your prayers, and answers them in the way that is eternally best for you.

CONCLUSION: We are not promised a rose garden – not here, not now.  But we do have a Savior who has overcome this world.  He gives us great gifts to carry us through all the tribulations we may face in this world.  He gives the Word, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  He encourages us to respond to the grace we have received through prayer.  He promises to answer our prayers for Jesus’ sake in ways that are eternally best for us.  But to top it all off, Jesus gives us something better than a rose garden – an eternity in heaven. Amen.