Happy Are The Sad Series

Happy Are those who Mourn

CCCAG September 10th, 2017

Scripture- Matthew 5:4

Today we are going to talk about the idea of Mourning

This is one of those topics that is very misunderstood in the church of the 21st Century.

We have two extremes-

We have one side that says that if you are a Christian, then you should never be sad, lonely, depressed or grieve because Jesus took all of that away at Calvary’s cross.

Then there is the other side that says that Jesus wept over Jerusalem and all of her sins, and we should always be in mourning over the sin in our own hearts, and the sins of the world we live in.

Couple that with an outside culture, particularly here in the rural setting that tells men, in particular, that you need to be strong and never ever cry at all or at least not in front of other people.

My earliest experience with morning came when I was about 7 years old. I had a favorite great-uncle die. Uncle Delmar used to watch me when I was in Hayward and my grandparents had to work, and we’d go fishing and hiking a lot. He died in the winter shoveling snow, so we made the (at the time) over 8 hr trip from Kenosha to Hayward to attend his funeral. Even though my parents had separated, they were both there as my dad knew Delmar very well and like him.

Before we went into the viewing my dad pulled me aside, put both hands on my shoulder, and said, “No crying. Men don’t cry, especially in front of woman. Your job is to be strong for them so they have someone strong to cling to during these times.”

My grandfather echoed his words as he held my hand and lead me to the casket. He as a strong Norwegian man who had that same idea of manhood as my father.

I still carry some of that to this day, even know I know how foolish and prideful that thought can be, and it definitely does not reflect who Jesus is or was when He was on this earth.

Ecclesiastes chapter three tells us there is a time and a season for everything under heaven, and that includes a time for mourning, and a time for weeping

I want to study this idea of mourning that Jesus introduces to us here in Matthew Chapter 5, which list the beautiful attitudes of Jesus.

Mat 5:4 “Blessed (or happy) are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Prayer

Synoposis- today I want to look at the biblical idea of mourning and it’s place in our lives. We are going to start with the difference between a fleshly or sinful morning, and a godly spiritually healthy mourning. WE will then move to discuss the value and spiritual benefits of mourning, and then finish with how God uses mourning to bring us into a comfortable place within HIM.

I. The difference between sinful Versus Godly Mourning

2nd Cor 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

There are two different kinds of mourning or sorrow that we can express- one is healthy and God centered and inspired, and the other is deadly, me centered and devil inspired.

We are going to focus on the latter first- 1 Kings 21

There is a story in the bible about a King in Israel named Ahab. Ahab was one of the most wicked kings in the history of Israel or Judah, and his wife was so wicked the bible refers to the spirit of wickedness and spiritual rebellion with her name- the Spirit of Jezebel.

Ahab is in his palace in the city of Samaria and decided that he wants to expand his gardens a bit. He looks over and sees that the person owning the property closest to the palace is a man named Naboth. Ahab goes to Naboth and offers him a deal- sell me your land, or let’s do a trade- I will give you a much better land than the one you currently own.

Many people in this county have had this deal thrown at them recently by the sand mines- some people have made really good money by selling off their land, even land that had been in their families for several generations.

The difference in Israel is that God had commanded that land was to be kept in the families forever. They could sell the land, but every 50 years the land would automatically be returned back to the family it was supposed to belong to.

Naboth, knowing the character of Ahab and that if he sells him this land, it will never be returned to his family despite what the law had to say, refuses to violate the law by selling his land and moving away from the land that God had given his family.