INTRODUCTION
ILLUSTRATION JONI EARECKSON TADA said, “You don’t have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option and it’s all been made possible by your SAVIOR Jesus Christ. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow.”
Here is a person who understands what it means “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) This is our text for meditation this morning.
EXPOSITION
1. WHAT DOES THE TERM “MOURN” MEAN?
To “mourn” literally means “to cut or beat the chest in grief.” It also means to grieve, be sad, and to lament. It is the kind of grief which overwhelms a man and cannot be hidden. It is not only the sorrow which brings pain to the heart but also tears to the eyes. Thus weeping or crying is a normal part of life and God allows it to be expressed.
ILLUSTRATION The Arabs have a proverb: "All sunshine makes a desert." The land on which the sun always shines will soon become an arid place in which no fruit will grow. There are certain things which only the rains will produce; and certain experiences which only sorrow can beget.
Did you know that the ability to cry is a gift of God? The pain and the anxiety we hold in can poison our entire emotional system if it isn’t released in tears. It is very natural to mourn. In the Old Testament, mourning was expressed by weeping (Genesis 37:34); by loud lamentation (Ruth 1:9); and by the disfigurement of the person:
a. Tearing the clothes and wearing sackcloth. (Genesis 37:34-5)
b. Sprinkling dust or ashes on the person (2 Samuel 13:19)
c. Shaving the head(Job 1:20),g
d. Neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments (Exodus 33:4)
e. Fasting (2 Samuel 1:12)
f. Sitting in silence (Judges 20:26)
Perhaps today we mourn in different ways but it is acceptable and normal. Some thought that if we are good Christians, filled with the Spirit, we will experience no sorrow and will wear eternal heavenly smiles like Mona Lisa’s. But life is filled with uncertainty and we could not discern our next situation in life is. Laughter is essential, but we cannot ignore the reality of grief and sorrow.
The world despises sorrow so much that it has gone wild in its attempt to avoid it. They keep telling us smile, laugh it out, and enjoy your life but these are denials of the pain and aches and when it happens it will come out in different forms – rebellion and insanity.
2. WHEN IS “MOURNING” AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BLESSING?
a. Mourning is an opportunity for blessing when we mourn for the losses of man.
The Bible gave examples for mourning like loss of a loved ones and loss of properties because of natural calamities. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Genesis 23:2) and Jacob for Joseph (Genesis 37:34). Job mourned for the loss of his children and properties (Job 1:20-21)
ILLUSTRATION Recently a ship carrying 1400 passengers sank in the Red Sea and only about 324 people were rescued and the rest were feared lost in the chilly sea. The natural response to this was anger and mourning especially so that most of the passengers were Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia.
What will you tell the families of these victims who depend for support and care? Not to mention missing the presence and love of their beloved. We don’t know if there are believers in that tragedy but God said “blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Our God is the God of all comfort and who comforts us in all our troubles. Comforting is part of God’s being and it speaks of His concern to relieve sorrow or distress, to cheer up, and encourage. How does God comfort us?
• His presence through the Holy Spirit will touch our hearts and minds and change our situations. He sent Jesus His Son to proclaim the message of salvation and comfort.
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
• When God comforts us he also promised to replace our losses and multiply our blessings.
Isaiah 51:3 “The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
• God also uses individuals as instruments in comforting us.
Genesis 24:67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
2 Corinthians 7:6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
I don’t know what kind of losses you have right now but God knows and willing to comfort you by being present, by touching your lives, by replacing them, and by sending someone to encourage you.
ILLUSTRATION John Yates in his sermon entitled “An Attitude of Grace” narrated the following story.
A ship was wrecked and the only survivor was washed up on a small uninhabited island. He was exhausted. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon, searching for help. Finally, he managed to built a rough hut and put his few articles in that hut.
One day, as he came home from hunting for food, he was stung with grief to see his little hut in flames and a cloud of smoke. The worst had happened. But early the next day, a ship drew in and rescued him. He asked the crew, “How did you know I was here?” They replied, “We saw your smoke signal.”
God’s comfort is on the way because your mourning is a smoke signal for God. God cares for you and you will find His presence and blessing in very unusual situations.
b. Mourning is an opportunity for blessing when we mourn for the sinfulness of man; either personal or universal.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites practiced what we called “penitential mourning.” This means to lament or express sorrow due to one’s sinful behavior or the evil so prevalent in this world. It is being done for varying period – 7 to 30 days.
Exodus 33:1-4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ’I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments.
God knows that we are just humans and imperfect thus He is merciful and gracious. On the other hand, I believe He would be pleased if when we realized our sins and disobedience that we would mourn and be sorrowful about it as a demonstration of repentance.
Those who mourn over sin refuse to rationalize them and call “sin” as sin and not use any kind of euphemism for sin like – unfortunate, indiscretion, error, and mistakes. You cannot be forgiven if you are not sorry for your sins. The saddest thing in life is not a sorrowing heart, but a heart that is incapable of grief over sin, for you will receive the grace of God.
One of the great functions of the Cross is to open the eyes of men and women to the horror of sin. And when a man sees sin in all its horror he cannot do anything else but experience intense sorrow for his sin. Christianity begins with a sense of sin.
Blessed is the man who is intensely sorry for his sin, the man who is heart-broken for what his sin has done to God and to Jesus Christ, the man who sees the Cross and who is appalled by the havoc wrought by sin.
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it-- I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while-- yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Why does mourning over the sinfulness of man be blessed?
He is blessed because God will not reject Him instead He will be forgiven.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Sin makes our heart unclean and when we repent and confess our sins to God He will cleanse and purify us.
I John 1:8-10 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
If we insist on denying our sins, then we deceive ourselves and God’s word has no place in our lives. Beside it makes our lives more miserable because of the guilt within us.
Psalm 32:3-5 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Psalm 51:8-13 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
What are the blessings of repentance – mourning over sinfulness?
• Physical and emotional strength – joy and gladness.
• Stability in the Spirit – able to withstand another spiritual attack or temptation.
• Experience of God’s presence – we can stand before the presence of God.
• Ability to encourage others to faith – we can instruct and encourage others to obey God.
CONCLUSION
Lay before God’s presence whatever causes of mourning you may have today and believe the promise and you shall be comforted.
