John 16:25-33 March 3, 2002

"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."
"You believe at last!" Jesus answered. ³²"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

CCI: The victory Jesus offers is better than the victory for which we often crave.

Intro: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." With these words Jesus concludes his teaching on the night of his arrest. These are words of faithfulness. Not of the faithfulness of the disciples, but of the faithfulness of Jesus.

She was 51 years old at the time. Her daughter was in her first year of college and her husband was dying of leukemia. She knew trouble. But she also had a faith that shone brightly. Shortly before he died, her husband placed his faith in Jesus through the testimony of her daughter. That day in February of 1976 the ambulance would not come because he was a VA patient so her daughter drove him to the hospital where he died minutes later. After the funeral was paid for, she discovered that he had left $5,000 in life insurance. It wasn't much, but her house was paid for, she was thankful and she prayed.

Over the years friends painted her house. Others helped mow the grass, the interest from the life insurance helped pay the taxes. Her daughter put herself through college. And through it all she was thankful and she prayed.

She was alone, she did not drive, her friends were aging, her neighborhood was changing. It became difficult to pay for the medicine, and then the state offered prescriptions at a discount and she was thankful and she prayed faithfully.

He house was getting older, the roof was now 39 years old, but it did not leak, a friend gave her cable television for Christmas, and another bought her a couple books of stamps. And she continued to use the interest from the $5,000 life insurance policy to pay her taxes and she was thankful and she prayed faithfully for those who were in need.

Then the neighbor's house was broken into and she began hearing the voices of people outside her window every night. It was frightening. Then there were the lights that shone in her face and over her head. It was frightening. And then there was the tapping on the windows and the pounding on her walls. It was frightening. But she was thankful, God had protected her and she prayed for the people who were harassing her.

And then a month ago, Sheryl and I went to New Jersey to help her make a decision to move. She was nervous about the move, but she believed that God would walk with her and so she applied to live in an assisted living facility in her home town. It was expensive, but she believed that God was faithful. And she was thankful and she prayed for the people who were harassing her.

There were two apartments available, she chose the smaller one, "Yeah, well, it will be enough," she said. And she was thankful for the nice lady who showed her the apartment. And she prayed.

That is when we began to see God's faithfulness so clearly. She listed her house with a friend in realty. It was just a little house that had cost $7,000 52 years ago. She had helped pay down the principal before she became disabled. The roof still did not leak after 39 years and the foundation was stable. She was thankful for the realtor and prayed for him and for the person who would buy it.

Two weeks later it became evident that she needed to make the move, the fears were getting greater and the noises starting earlier. But still she was thankful and she prayed for the people who were harassing her.

Sheryl flew in on Wednesday and Thursday she moved her mother into her new apartment at the assisted living home. Friends came from Virginia to help with the move. Others provided a truck. It would cost a lot, but she knew that God is faithful. And she was thankful and she prayed for the people who were her new neighbors.

On the next Friday, the realtor friend called and said, "I have a cash offer for your mother's house." And when we told her, she was thankful and she prayed. On Sunday we drove in to see her. We met with the attorney and learned about Medicade. We then set about cleaning out her little house. And an auctioneer met us on Monday and Tuesday he came a took furniture and luggage and many other articles. Wednesday a kind old man came and cleaned out the rest of the house. As I was finishing some sweeping, the realtor came to the door with a signed contract for a cash purchase. When we told her she was thankful and she prayed for the people who would move in.

My mother-in-Law is a woman of prayer. She has taken this promise of Jesus and put it into practice in her daily life. She has had trouble in this world, but she takes heart because she believes that Jesus has overcome the world.

Sometimes it is hard to see God's hand. Sometimes the trouble seems massive. But Jesus has said, "Take heart, I have overcome the world."

Ray Bakke, the mission specialist from Chicago tells of an old Glasgow professor named MacDonald who, along with a Scottish chaplain, had bailed out of an airplane behind German lines. They were put in a prison camp. A high wire fence separated the Americans from the British, and the Germans made it next to impossible for the two sides to communicate. MacDonald was put in the American barracks and the chaplain was housed with the Brits.

Every day the two men would meet at the fence and exchange a greeting. Unknown to the guards, the Americans had a little homemade radio and were able to get news from the outside, something more precious than food in a prison camp. Every day, MacDonald would take a headline or two to the fence and share it with the chaplain in the ancient Gaelic language, indecipherable to the Germans.

One day, news came over the little radio that the German High Command had surrendered and the war was over. MacDonald took the news to his friend, then stood and watched him disappear into the British barracks. A moment later, a roar of celebration came from the barracks.

Life in that camp was transformed. Men walked around singing and shouting, waving at the guards, even laughing at the dogs. When the German guards finally heard the news three nights later, they fled into the dark, leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning, Brits and Americans walked out as free men. Yet they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the war was over. (From PreachingToday.com)

My friends, that is the life we live today. Jesus has won the victory. The War is over. There are still battle to fight, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.

Sheryl's mom knows what it is to serve a faithful God. This week we saw example after example of God's faithfulness. And we can say with the disciples, "Now we believe!"

But let me ask you, how have you seen God's faithfulness? Is it in his provision? Is it in the friends he has provided? Is it in the church where he has placed you? Is it in the relationship you have with your spouse? Where have you seen and experienced God's faithfulness?

The promise is, Be at peace, though there will be trouble in this world, take heart, I have overcome the world. That is the promise of Easter. That is the testimony of the Lord's Supper. If you have invited Jesus into your heart, you know his faithfulness today. If you have never taken that step, then today is the day of salvation for you. Your faithful God has been working throughout your life to bring you to this point. Open your heart and accept his love and forgiveness, as simple as it sounds, if you will take that step, your life will be changed.