Joyful Are The Broken
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:4
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Context
Context
If you remember from last week, we covered this word “blessed”. It is the word makarios in the Greek. We discussed how this word, in its fullest sense, means to have this wonderful contentedness inside of us that is not fueled by circumstance or situation, but by being tapped into the presence of God.
We discussed how happiness really doesn’t fully convey the truth of this word, but how the word joy does. Joyful are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
We also discussed how that these beatitudes are meant to challenge our character. Jesus is speaking here to what a man is, not what a man has or even does. We can all choose to act in a way that is contrary to our character, and quiet frankly our culture has become professionals at doing just that.
But this joy that Jesus is speaking of here is reserved only for those who are truly tapped into His presence. You cannot fake this type of joy. You cannot fake being joyful when you are truly broken in the sense that it is spoken of here. This joy comes only from God alone.
Mourn (pentheo) - literally means to grieve, or wail.
In the Greek language, there are nine words used to express grief, sorrow, or mourning. This word is the deepest expression of grief used out of all nine.
It expresses more than just tears, sadness, or uneasiness. It expresses an absolute brokenness. It is used in Scripture to represent those who had lost an immediate family member. It is to have a brokenness that is not easily shaken; a brokenness that brings about change in your life to where things will never be the same again.
It represents a deeply rooted longing for something that is completely outside of one’s control to grasp. It is as if the greatest object of your love and devotion has been taken away from you and you know that there is nothing you can ever do to get it back.
We must also see that though Jesus is using a word that is commonly used to express the deepest level of brokenness in a worldly sense, He is using it here for spiritual purposes.
See, the beatitudes are not a random list of statements. They are given in series. This means that each beatitude builds upon the latter, bringing the individual closer and closer to God, finally culminating in a relationship that is even willing to go through the fiery trials of persecution for Christ’s sake.
It started last week with the first, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We discussed how this represents being spiritually bankrupt, and how we are to come to God in true humbleness.
This beatitude is the express result of the first. As we come into relationship with God, our heart comes into unity with His heart.
14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
As we lean into our relationship with God, we begin to see sin as God does, and we are broken because of it.
Content
Content
The Seriousness of Sin
The Seriousness of Sin
Unfortunately, for many today, sin is just a casual word that gets tossed around aimlessly. The seriousness of sin has been lost by many throughout the ages, but the Bible tells us that sin is not some small matter. Matter of fact, it is one the biggest matters of all.
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—
44 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—
46 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—
48 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
Jesus says here that sin is such a big deal that if certain members of your body are causing you to sin, you should remove them so that you do not continue in sin. Now of course, he is not being literal here. No part of our physical body causes us to sin. Sin is an issue of the heart.
He is teaching here that sin is such a big deal, that we should be willing to do whatever is necessary, no matter how extreme and painful it might be, to keep from sinning. Nothing you have is worth keeping, if it leads you into sin.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
Here we have another picture of how serious sin is. Some think that certain sins are just not that bad. Peter disagrees. Peter challenges us to look at sin the way God does. Matter of fact, the challenge is to consider the actions God took against others who had sin in their lives and then ask ourselves, “Are we any better than them?”
If God did not spare the angels in sin, will He spare us? If God did not spare the ancient world of Noah’s time from their sin, will He spare us? If God did not spare Sodom & Gomorrah from their sin, will He spare us?
God cannot turn a blind eye to sin, for God is just. He just nature compels Him to judge sin accordingly. Please do not be fooled into thinking that the sin in your life is no big deal.
It is a very big deal. It is because of sin that angels were kicked out of heaven. It is because of sin that entire human race, save Noah and 7 others, were annihilated in the beginning. It is because of sin that Sodom & Gomorrah no longer exists today. Sin is a big deal!!!
Ezekiel 18:20 (NKJV)
20 The soul who sins shall die.....
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9 (NKJV)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.....
God is begging you through the apostle Paul here not to be deceived concerning sin in your life. Sin destroys. Sin brings death.
Please.....do not be deceived into thinking that you will hide your sin. You may hide it from your family, your church family, or even every single human in the world, but you will not hide your sin from God.
23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
God sees all and knows all. He knows not only what you do, but He also knows what is in your heart. He knows the motives behind every word, and the thought behind every action.
Sin in your life is as serious as it gets. Please hear what the Word of God says.
Why? Why is sin so devastating?
The Saturation of Sin
The Saturation of Sin
Sin multiplies. Sin breeds more sin. One sin turns into another sin, which turns yet again into another sin. If you allow sin to remain in your life, it will only get worse. I promise. The Word of God promises.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
The picture here is that of planting. When you plant, you put a very small seed into the ground. Over the course of time, you feed that seed water and nutrients, you cultivate the ground around it, you tend to it. After some time, that very small seed turns into a great big ole plant. Whatever seeds you sow, and whatever seeds you cultivate will determine what fruit is bore in your life.
That small sin, when cultivated and tended to, turns into something much larger that begins to bare reproducing fruit. Sin multiplies.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
These verses teach us how sin multiplies. It starts as just a thought. You have a thought you shouldn’t have, but when you dwell on that thought, it turns into a desire. This desire entices you. It pulls at you constantly and consistently. As you dwell on that desire, you are watering the seed, you are cultivating the ground. When you choose to finally act on that desire, it brings forth sin. That sin results in death. Sin multiplies. The longer you allow it stay in your life, the worse it gets. And then once you have committed the sin the first time, it makes it even easier for you to do it a second time. It gets even easier the third time. Before you know it, it becomes another part of your life and you are committing the sin without even giving it a second thought.
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
These verses show us just how deep into sin we can get. It says that “their understanding is darkened”. This means that they can no longer distinguish between good and evil. They no longer have the capacity to determine right from wrong, to understand the ways and will of God. And notice that it is God who has caused this. God has caused their understanding to be darkened. They are “alienated from the life of God.....because of the blindness of their heart.” This literally means that their heart has been hardened.
A hardened heart come from the repetitive action of consistently choosing to go against God’s will. As we said, the first time you commit a particular sin is tough; the second time is easier; the subsequent times following that gets even easier; and finally you don’t feel a thing when committing that sin. That is the process of hardening one’s heart. Your heart becomes numb to the Holiness of God and the sting of sin.
It goes on to say, “who being past feeling”. This means their heart no longer feels. The hardness of the heart has caused it to no longer feel the presence of God or the sting of sin. “They have given themselves over to lewdness.” This means that they no longer seek the things of God. They have become to comfortable with the ways of the world. They no longer seek the righteousness of God in their lives. All they want now is to continue in this life of sin that they have created for themselves. They continue “to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
This is the effects of sin. This is what happens when sin goes unchecked in your life for too long. God gives you over to the desires of your heart. That last phrase literally means that they continue to practice sinfulness in their lives with “greediness”. In other words, they not only continue in sin, but they long for more of it. It takes a hold of your heart and then controls. you.
Sin multiplies. Before you know it, you are saturated with sin and have no idea how you got there, or how to get out.
And the worst part.....
The Separation of Sin
The Separation of Sin
The definition of sin is “anything performed outside of the will of God.”
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
Sin is anything that goes against the righteous standard of God and the result of it is that it separates us from God.
Adam and Eve were separated from God.
King Saul was separated from God.
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
Sin causes us to pull back from God. When there is sin in our lives, we do not pray as we should, we do not read our Bibles as we should. We do not witness as we should. We do not do anything as we should. We may go through the motions, but our heart is not in it. We do only the bare minimum and pull away from everything else. The result of sin is devastating.
Not only does it cause separation here and now, but also for all eternity.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin brings forth ultimate separation. Without the forgiveness and grace of God applied, our sin will ultimately lead to eternal separation from God.
That is the last thing you want. That is the last thing God wants for you.
I am so thankful this verse does not stop after that first phrase, but continues to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
If you are overcome with sin, if you are battling a hardened heart; if you have never experienced an exchanged life through God’s grace, you can. Your story does not have to continue as it is right now. You can place a period and start a new chapter. This new chapter would begin by saying, “but Jesus died for me, saved me, redeemed me, and released me.”
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Joyful are those who mourn.....mourn over what? Mourn over the sin in their lives, the sin in their family, the sin of their community. They mourn over anything that grieves the heart of God. Their is comfort for those who mourn.
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Commitment
Commitment
You say, ok. I want to be saved. I want to start over. I want this new life you speak of. What do I do? That is the greatest question you could ever ask. Let me show you.....
Believe
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
You must believe that Jesus came to save you, that He loves you so much that He was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice, His own life, so that you might experience new life in Him.
Your sin, and my sin, and everyone’s sin, was such a big deal to Him, that He was willing to give His life so that we might be saved from the penalty of our sin. He died so that we might live.
Repent
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The first thing you must do is repent of your sin. To repent means to turn away from one thing and turn to something else. It means that you are acknowledging what God has said about your sin and that you no longer want that for yourself. You are instead turning away from that sin and turning to Christ. He will now be the satisfaction of your soul. Nothing else.
Are you sure God can and will save me? Absolutely!!!
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confess Him
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Confession is more than just saying the words, it is living the life. It is living an exchanged life, free from sin.
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
We are to follow in His steps. We are to live as He would have us to live. This is how we confess Jesus to others. Not only through word, that is part of it, but in how we live our lives in accordance to His will.
