Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Thursday, June 9,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse 1 Cor 13:13 “But now abide (live forever) faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

John 16:19-22 Sorrow turned to Joy!

Christ compares the events of His suffering to the birth of a child: where hard labor is followed by joy. Isaiah 53:11

Isa 53:11, “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.”

We have sorrow and suffering; but with the Word of God and Filling of the Holy Spirit, that sorrow is turned into +H.

Likewise, when Christ returns, all our sorrows will be turned into joy. Christ gives the kind of joy that the world cannot take away, Rev 21:4.

Rev 21:4, “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, and neither men nor demons; sufferings in life nor in death, should ever deprive us of His joy (+H).

Believers have joy or sorrow, according to their knowledge of Christ, and the tokens of His presence.

Sorrow is coming on the ungodly, which nothing can lessen; the believer is an heir to joy which no one can take away.

All that He said was greatly fitted to shake their faith, and to expose them to the danger of apostasy. Compare Luke 24:21

Luke 24:21, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.”

When we think only about death or the removal of someone from our fellowship we have sorrow, but in the light of resurrection and eternal life our sorrow is turned into joy.

Additional Principles: 1. If Christians were left to themselves they would fall away and perish.

Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, June 9, 2011 Tape # Sorrow Turned in to Joy (+H) Upper Room Discourse, Part 518 John 16:19-22; Heb 12:2; Rev 11:1-14; 21:14; Psa 76:10 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2011