On a visit overseas, a wealthy man was fascinated with a powerful microscope that allowed him to study the petals of a flower. He was amazed at their beauty and detail, so he decided to purchase a microscope and take it home. He enjoyed using it until one day he examined some food he was planning to eat. Much to his dismay, he discovered tiny living creatures crawling in his food. Since he was fond of this particular food, he wondered what to do. He concluded there was only one option – he had to destroy the microscope so he wouldn’t see the tiny creatures again. You might say, "How foolish!" But people do the same thing with God’s Word. The Bible exposes their true nature so they try to destroy or ignore it.
Last Sunday night we began a study in Mt. 5 on the beatitudes – the attitude we are to be. Jesus offers (8) attitudes we’re to have as citizens of His kingdom. Tonight we look at Matt. 5:4. READ
We started examining how to be a better Christian by looking at the condition of our lives – we are poor in spirit, spiritually destitute beggars. As we continue, we need to take the next logical step – mourning. It’s one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it; it’s another to grieve and mourn over it.
You see, there is a great need in the church today to cry instead of laugh. I say this because spiritual poverty should lead to godly sorrow. Unfortunately we live in a world that’s constantly trying to convince us to shun mourning. The world’s says, “Forget your troubles, turn your back on them, do everything you can not to face them. Pain is bad; happy is good. Things are bad enough as they are without you going to look for trouble – so don’t worry, be happy.”
The problem is that unless we grieve and mourn our sin and the sin of others, we’ll miss God and sin will gain a greater foothold on our lives.
Before we go any further, I want to remind you that Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the attitudes they are to possess as kingdom citizens. If our attitude determines our altitude then our attitude also determines our disposition and determination. All of the beatitudes refer to a spiritual condition, and the beatitude of mourning shows the necessity of us coming face to face with our sin.
We said last week that blessed is an inward contentedness unaffected by surrounding conditions where we’ll be approved by God and receive the applause of heaven. In particular, for those who mourn over their sinful condition and of the sinfulness of others, God promises to comfort them through forgiveness and His Spirit. Do you mourn over being poor in spirit? If you are truly poor in spirit you will mourn as you realize your own sins and the sins of others.
There are words in the N.T. for sorrow which reflect the commonness of mourning in a man’s life. In other words, grief is woven into the fabric of the human condition. Yet of the (9) words used, Jesus uses the strongest word in this text.
The word for mourn that Jesus used here represents the deepest, most heart-felt grief a man can experience. The word carries the idea of deep inner agony, expressed by outward weeping. It’s a word used for mourning for the dead and lamenting a loved one. You know how you feel when you lose a close loved-one to death. That is the feeling Jesus is talking about.
Jesus is telling His followers that we must mourn over the sinful human condition as we would for a death of a loved one. And when we do mourn over our sin and the sins of humanity, we will find comfort through His forgiveness. That’s a promise from God.
James 4: 8-10 – “ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
This verse is a slap in the face to those who believe in prosperity gospel. God says true faith isn’t found in prosperity but in humility & brokenness. David expressed this in Ps. 51. “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.3 For [b]I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You [c]are justified [d]when You speak And [e]blameless when You judge.”
David realized the power and penalty of his sin and he mourned his actions and attitude seeking forgiveness from God. He realized that it was not through his efforts or goodness, but by God’s grace alone that he could find comfort. So when David stopped hiding his sin and began to mourn he found God.
Psalm 32: 1-2. “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” David expressed a vital spiritual truth. Blessedness doesn’t come in mourning but in God’s response to mourning.
Godly sorrow brings God’s forgiveness. Only mourners over sin can be happy because they have been forgiven. Contrary to popular belief, sin and happiness are totally incompatible – where one exists the other can’t. You say, “I don’t know about that. I consciously sinned a few times and it made me pretty happy.” Really? Did it last? To mourn is to have a deep inner agony over sin as if someone you loved has died.
I want you to understand a vital truth. Mourning over sin in our lives is essential to spiritual health. If you want to have a vibrant, authentic, relationship with God, then you must come face-to-face with who you are, grieve your condition, and turn to God. In 2 Corinthians Paul said, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Jesus isn’t talking about the sorrow of bereavement, but rather the sorrow that leads to repentance. A person who truly mourns his sin will have sorrow over the power and effects of sin in the world as well as over their own condition. How should we respond to all that?
EXAMINE Yourself. As we truly come before God and His holiness, it is then that we become poor in spirit and we mourn our condition. But mourning doesn’t mean that we wallow in self-pity, nor does it mean that we are engulfed with despair. True mourning doesn’t focus on self but on the God who can forgive and remove our sin.
In other words, sin must have tears. The fires of sin can be extinguished with the tears of mourning. The water for our tears is the grace of God found in Christ Jesus. So once we admit that we are poor in spirit and unable to save ourselves, we should mourn our condition and turn to God for help. Problem is, many times we don’t see ourselves as sinners, and if we do, we are not convinced that our sin is really that bad.
The Bible says “there is none righteous, no not one; there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.” Rm. 3:10-11 “For the wages of sin is death.” Rm. 6:23
God says that we are all sinners and that our sin separates us from Him condemning us to hell. And unless we accept this truth, mourn our condition, and turn from sin to Christ – we will face the condemnation of our sin.
Can I be blunt? My heart breaks over the willful disobedience of many professing Christians. My heart aches over the sinful choices you’ve made expecting God and His church to overlook them. Whether it is gossiping, lying, cheating, or living with someone outside the bonds of marriage it doesn’t matter. Not only should you not expect God and godly people to accept it – but neither should you! God can’t bless you if you’re willfully living in sin. Now I’m not saying this to throw stones, we’re all sinners, but if we think that God excuses us of our responsibility for holy living then we’re sadly mistaken.
We have to take sin as serious as God does and He hates it. He loves us, but He hates our sin. And to knowingly live in sin is to spit into the face of God abusing the purpose of the cross. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to afford you the opportunity to sin without consequence – Jesus died on the cross to set you free. So no matter how you might attempt to justify you actions, it will never work.
In Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son, He said, “But while (the son)was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.”
God is not seeking to condemn us, but neither will He condone our sinful behavior. We condemn ourselves by refusing to repent, and yet God continues to work in our lives to bring us to repentance and restoration. It’s no accident that the father was looking down the road that evening? He missed his son and he longed to have him home – so too does God long for us to be re-united to Him. He waits for repentance.
After examining ourselves then we should EXPERIENCE brokenness over the sins of others. The Psalmist wrote in Ps. 119:136, “Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.”
David expressed God’s heart that we should grieve for our own sins, and also for the sin of others in the church and in the world. I don’t know about you but my heart aches over the condition of lostness in our world. The attitude in our world is that, “If it feels good, do it.” But not only is it an attitude, it is also an action. Yes, our attitude about things leads to action. For instance,
Pornography: The use of porn is directly connected to the rise in sexual crimes including rape, incest, sodomy, prostitution, and child solicitation.
Abortion: There are close to 2 million abortions annually in the U.S.
Alcoholism: Alcohol contributes to over 100,000 deaths annually, making it the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in this the US.
Crime: Just look at the headlines today. Drugs, bloodshed, stabbings, shootings, incest, rape, kidnappings, and burglary.
This disregard for God and His word should grieve us to action. It should drive us to our knees in prayer and to our communities for prevention.
Paul Harvey tells of an incident in which (3) firemen burst into a house in Manchester, England to rescue a family, but the family refused to leave until their favorite show was over. Can you believe that?
The lostness of people is astounding, and yet we should grieve over it instead of becoming apathetic to it. Now the question is “are you broken over the sin in our country?”
After examining ourselves and experiencing brokenness over the sins of others we should EXPECT God to Bring Comfort. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Jesus reminded his disciples through the prophet Isaiah that the Messiah would “comfort all who mourn” (Is. 61:2). This word “comfort” is the same word used in John 14:16 in reference to the H.S. Jesus tells us that He is our helper but that he is going to send a comforter. Jesus says, "And I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be w/ you forever.”
The idea is that God will bring comfort through confession and contrition. As we mourn and turn from sin to God he will give grace to wipe away our tears and fears.
But notice that comfort comes after mourning. When we honestly come to grips with the sin in our lives and in our country we will be comforted. It’s only those who mourn for sin who will have their tears wiped away by the loving hand of Jesus.
I close with this story:
A man continually rededicated his life and always prayed the same prayer, "Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life."
His pastor had heard this prayer more times than he cared to remember. Finally, when the man uttered the prayer into his pastor’s ear at the altar, “Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life,” the pastor responded with a prayer of his own, "Lord, kill the spider!"
Repentance requires change in both our attitudes and our behavior.
Examine yourself - True mourning doesn’t focus on self but on the God who can forgive and remove our sin.
Experience brokenness over the sins of others.
Expect God to bring comfort.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
