January 9, 2011
Blessed are those who morn, for they will be comforted
Matthew 5:1-5:12
Introduction
We continue to study the Sermon on the Mount.
Last week we looked - “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
We saw that to be poor in spirit had nothing to do with money , it had everything to do with being humble. The opposite of being prideful and self-centered.
That we must admit to God that we are nothing and empty without Him.
That we cannot think higher of ourselves then we should.
This morning we will look at- “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
Could of named the sermon- “criers and whiners” because that is what you first think of...at least this city boy does.
Blessed are those who mourn-“blessed are the criers, those that wear their hearts on their sleeves. The Bully’s delight!
Society with all their emphasis on masculinity put shame to those that show weakness.
Those that would cry at a drop of a hat.
Those that would have compassion for other people.
In fact, the AFLCIO said this week that people do not have to be polite. Don’t have to be nice. They said that our first Amendment rights allows us if we want to, to curse policemen for stopping us and giving us a ticket.
I love the new planet fitness commercial. It shows a great big guy walking through the fitness center as the guide is showing him all the machines. The guide asks “what do you do?” “I pick things up and set them down” repeatedly he says that as the guide is showing him around. He did it to the point that the guide tricks him into exiting out a side door. “This is not your fitness center.”
That is how society treats people showing compassion and having a heart for someone else- “This is not your place.”
A crying compassionate man is someone who lacks courage and/or integrity to hold himself together.
On the other hand, a female, hysterical, emotional, irrational is seen as too sensitive and out of control.
The passage tells us, “Happy are those who grieve? Right? “Happy are those who are sad”? They will be comforted.
I don’t know- call me skeptical. I am careful that weeping is not a manipulative trick.
Our kids shedding a tear to lessen the punishment. My daughter was in her twenties and admitted to me that she would practice in the mirror looking sad and pathetic. She worked hard to get tears to come out. Anyone who has a daughter can appreciate that one.
The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.
We (my daughter and I) were looking in a mirror and laughing about what she used to do. My grown up daughter standing right next to me, and I say to her- “I wonder what I look like with my eyes closed.” I instantly thought to myself- How do I get out of this one? I open my eyes to a hysterically laughing daughter. Back to it!
Fake tears turn us off. Genuine tears shows transparency and a breaking down of some walls
The Greek word for mourn here means “inner grief.” The loss of a loved one. The deep loss of something of great value.
Just think what would happen of our country would squarely face suffering and mourning the way God intended us to instead of burying them in mood altering drugs.
Alcohol,
Cigarette industry
Candy companies would suffer.
Your grocery bill would go down every week.
Can you imagine the Jews sitting on that mountainside, listening to Jesus, expecting Him to change their circumstances and He says – ‘Blessed are those who mourn” “Blessed are the Meek.”
They hated the Romans and wanted that empire crushed!
Romans with their philosophy of “might makes right.”
“The strong survive, the weak are eaten and destroyed”
Here it is in a nutshell! Jesus says blessed are those that have inner grief, for their sins and carry that grief into the lives of those they come around.
The born-again believer who professes Jesus Christ as Lord inherits and possesses the characteristics of Christ.
His deep love for others and his hatred of sin.
The Christian is like a new born baby who does not know how to walk. Yet inside of him is the ability to walk.
As he grows, he learns to walk.
It is about drawing near to God.
James 4:7-10 paraphrased.
“Submit yourselves to God”
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”
“Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up”
We draw close to God because we are sinners in need of God.
We need to be cleansed by God.
Cleansing speaks of our guilt.
We must come to God guiltless.
The only way we do that is by the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.
How does a repentant sinner come to God? They come lamenting and mourning, weeping, humbly coming before God…. And the Word of God says, “Then, He will lift you up!
Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted! Amen!
We must always maintain that inner grieve concerning our sins, and the lives and souls of those around us.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overshadowing of it”
Helen Keller
There are 3 ways to look at this passage
1. Literally- Blessed are those who have endured the greatest sorrow life can bring. We can help others because we have felt their pain of what they are going through. We have determined to use it for the honor and glory of God and turn it into something that works together for good to those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. Ministries start because of a burden for people. Alcohol, Drugs, sex, marriage , parenthood.
2. Blessed are those who are desperately sorry for the sorrow and suffering of the world. They see what is going on, it grieves their heart and they are determined to make an impact in people’s lives. Christians are not perfect, but we need to be their for each other and keep each other on the path to heaven.
3. Blessed are those sorry for their own sin and their own unworthiness.
I will not forget where I came from.
I will not forget to help brothers and sisters where I can.
I will follow the commands of the Lord because I want to please Him.
True Christianity mourns sin- the sin the world engages in and the sin that we have to keep out of our lives.
It is having a broken heart for the things that breaks God’s heart.
Coming around the corner
Jews hated Romans for ruling the land of Israel. They hated to be under the dictatorship of someone else. But lets look at why this was happening!
Israel lost the power and protective might of God because they had turned their backs on God. Their leaders gave up on God, threw out the commandments, and lost the love of their neighbor in the process. (sound familiar)
The blessedness God is talking about is true spiritual fulfillment and joy that arise out of suffering and pain.
Blessedness is learning the lessons God has for us in the pain.
Illustration-
The grief talked about would be Jacob having his sons bringing back Joseph coat with blood on it and being told that wild animals had killed him.
The joy talked about would be years later finding out that Joseph was still alive. Joy can arise from pain.
There are three kinds of suffering- physical, emotional, spiritual.
We look and try to take care of the first two- physical, emotional.
We identify with them. The third one, the spiritual, the most important one is the one that we lack or dismiss.
Spiritual growth comes from life lessons and life lessons are not easy.
Jesus gave us a parable of life John 12:23-27
To truly live, a person has to die to self.
Talk about a kernel of wheat- it must fall to the ground and die. When it does, there is a transformation period, then it begins to grow and bears fruit. In our lives- we must die to self- surrender to God. There is a transformation period- a time to suffer, at times grieve.
Natural man dies and the characteristics of God grows.
Growth is a process- and it is painful.
Talked on Wednesday about three kinds of people
1. Rowboat people- need to be pushed or shoved around.
2. Sailboat people- they move when favorable wind is blowing
3. Steamboat people- consistently move through calm or storm. Self motivated.
Illustration
The story is told about a Indian who attended a church service on Sunday morning. The preacher’s message lacked real spiritual food, so he did a lot of shouting and pulpit pounding to cover up his lack of preparation. In fact as it is sometimes said, he preached quite a storm. After the service , someone asked the Indian what was a Christian? Thinking for a minute, remembering the sermon, he summed it up in six words- high wind, Big thunder, No rain.
Closing;
God is looking for people, churches, that will mourn for their sins, mourn for the lost people that we come in contact with.
Somehow we need to make peace with the fact that bad things happen to good people because we live in a fallen world.
Growth happens to us when we’ve been through some form of suffering.
Ravi Zacharias
What God whispers to us in our pleasures, he shouts to us in our pain”
God words tell us to have right behavior, right attitude, right affections, keep our eyes on Jesus, stay focused.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Altar Call
