Today we are going to take a posture of peace by seeing clearly.
Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything.
Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
I know we talked in the last couple episodes about not seeing or not going by what we see
but going by what God said. We're continuing that conversation today because there is
some seeing that is gifted to us as sons of God. So that's what we're going to be talking about.
John chapter 16, Jesus is having a conversation with his disciples and he says,
a little while and you will see me no longer and again a little while and you will see me.
So some of his disciples said to one another, what is this that he says to us a little while
and you will not see me and again a little while and you will see me and because I go to my father.
What does he mean by a little while? We do not know what he is talking about.
So Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this so he said to them, is this what you're
asking yourselves? What I meant by saying a little while and you will not see me and again
a little while and you will see me? Truly truly I say to you, you will weep and lament but the world
will rejoice. You will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving
birth she has sorrow because her hour has come but when she has delivered the baby she no longer
remembers the anguish for the joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you
will sorrow now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take that joy
from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly truly I say to you, whatever you ask of the
father in my name he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you
will receive that your joy may be full. And then we're going to bounce down into verse 33, a scripture
many of us know very well here in the posture community. Jesus says, I have said these things to
you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome
the world. I love that scripture and promise. I love this conversation that Jesus has with his
disciples. I'm actually captivated by it and by that turning your sorrow into joy piece. You know
there's so much here but Jesus is giving them a heads up about what is going to take place through
his death and he says you won't see me and then you will see me. I'm sure you caught that because
it was said several times but this is not just a matter of you're not going to see me because I'm
dying and then you will see me because I'm coming back. He's actually telling them something much
greater. Jesus is saying here when I come back you are going to really see me. You're going to
wake up to something. You are going to become aware of who I am and what I have done and you
are going to know about you are going to experience our inseparable union. Jesus is saying I am going
to be to you who I have always been but you're going to recognize me and in recognizing me you're
going to recognize yourself. You're going to become aware that you are a new creation, that you are a
son of God. Now this redemptive power that Jesus demonstrates through his death and resurrection,
this power that conquered the death, hell, and the grave, this authority that turns sorrow into joy,
it lives in you and it lives in me because he lives in us. Just as we talked about in last
week's episode in John 14, Jesus is setting a new expectation here through his finished work. He is
modeling the new norm. As sons of God, the world does not happen to us. We happen to the world.
Now in Romans 8, it speaks about this. It speaks about living the life as sons of God,
living from the spirit. And I'm just going to read a portion of this but in verse 18 it says,
Paul wrote this to the Romans, it says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with
eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. That's you and me. For the creation was
to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself will be set free from its bondage of decay and brought into
freedom and glory of the children of God. Creation, this world, is longing for the
glory in us to be revealed. Through our circumstances, good, bad, or ugly, we are
entering into every aspect of creation and being Jesus's victory on display.
This is the life of an overcomer. Remember Colossians 2.10 says we have
been brought to fullness, so in every circumstance, fullness is your starting
point. This is very key. You are not starting from scratch. You're not
starting again. You're not finishing what Jesus started, because what he did was a
finished work. You can't add or take away from what Jesus did. What we are doing
as sons of God is we are saying yes to the invitation to live a life rested in
his finished work, and we're living it out in every season and in every
circumstance that we face. And we're doing this by choosing what he said, not
necessarily what we see. But when we choose what he said, we do see something.
We see things differently. We see them accurately. We see who Jesus is. We see
who God is, and we see who we are becoming in him. Now Paul prayed a very
special prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 18, and I want
to pray this over you today. He prayed for new eyes for them. He says,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may
know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance and his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who
believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he
raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that
is evoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to
come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over
everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way. You are full of Jesus today, and my prayer for you today
is that as you choose what he said, you will see this truth clearly.