Good Mourning
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Not long after arriving in new Hebrides as a pioneer missionary, John G. Paton and his wife rejoiced in the coming of a baby son to gladden their home. But the joy was short-lived. Soon death took both his wife and child, and Dr. Paton had to dig their graves and bury his loved ones with his own hands. In writing of this experience, he testified, "If it had not been for Jesus and the fellowship and grace He afforded me, I am certain I would have gone mad or died of grief beside their lonely graves." Marvelously strengthened from above, the bereaved servant of God found that the promises of the Word were able to sustain him through the heartache and sorrow of his tragic loss.
Mourning, grief, sadness, and sorrow are things that are a reality for us today. They happen to most all of us at some point. Some of us even feel as if it has come and has never gone away. We got medication that tries to eliminate it. We got methodologies and supplements to curb it, to eliminate it, to avoid it, to deny it. Let us be honest today… in our modern culture today, mourning is not a good thing. We avoid it at all cost. The philosophy of the world tells us not to face our troubles, not to endure its suffering, get away, and medicate. The purpose in our lives here on earth is happiness. Be as happy as you can. Don’t worry be happy. Aristotle called it eudaemonia. It is the essence of life. It is the purpose in life. It is what drives us. It’s what motivates us. Pleasure, relief, appetite, possessions, and of course entertainment. You get it, got it, gone!
And yet again the Bible tells us something different. Happy are those who mourn. Once again, we see why we do not follow the pattern of this world. We do not take our sues from the culture. We cannot follow the ideologies we see on tv and social media. We follow the Bible and the Bible alone. And again, the Bible say that the truly happy people are those who mourn. Lets take a look.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.
What is Mourning
What is Our Comfort?
The first thing we will look at today is the nature of what it is to mourn. Second, we will uncover how it is that we will be comforted in the love and power of our living Lord Jesus.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to flee the true godly characteristics of a citizen of heaven, it is the truth of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will open our eyes to see, soften our hearts to mourn, comforting us with the gospel, and giving us life in Christ.
I. What is Mourning
-A time to laugh or a time to cry?
A. There is truly a close connection of the second Beatitude an the result is something that is beautiful and dramatic. We saw last week the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” is more of an intellectual nature (those who understand that they are spiritual beggars). So now the second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn,” is the emotional aspect of the concept of those who are poor in spirit. It subsequently follows that when we intellectually see ourselves for what we really are before God, the natural response in accordance with out emotions, we will be drawn into… mourning.
B. But it was indicated to us last week that these are supposed to be characteristics of those who are truly citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Mourning… for real? It is shown more emphatic in Luke in the form of the negative… a woe.
What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
C. Christ is condemning the laughter, the jovial, the celebration of the world. To stress the point of emphasis of mourning, Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones in a hyperbolic statement from silence which I can find no real fault. He says “We have no record that Jesus ever laughed.” Now there are places where it does seem that Christ celebrated and appeared fun and friendly. You would have to be if you attracted children. But the point he is making is that the scriptures show the deep deep reality described in Isaiah.
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
D. He wept over Lazarus though he knew he would rise again. He wept over Jerusalem in view of its future. Grieving in the garden. Rejected and despised all the way to the cross. Mourning, grief and sadness is clearly shown in the demeanor of our Lord directly and clearly in the scriptures.
E. But lets zero in on this for a moment. This is not about being a grim, joyless, cheerless, dismal, and bleak Christian. It is also not mourning in general. Some think that grief because life is hard and difficult and things are not working out ok is the true virtue. No, mourning in it of itself is not the point. Sometimes we should be mourning because we make bad and ignorant decisions and we get ourselves where there are sad consequences. We deserve it. Can’t really call it blessed. Also sometimes we grieve because we cannot satisfy our sinful desires. The Bible says that Amnon mourned because he could not fulfill his lust for Tamar. The Bible also says that Ahab mourned because he could not get Naboth’s vineyard.
F. Dr. Hendrickson writes, “In the present context, however, a basically different kind of mourning is in view. It is the mourning of those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy (first beatitude) and are—or are presently going to be—hungering and thirsting for righteousness (fourth beatitude), that is emphasized.
G. Grief because we see and understand our sinful state apart from the grace of God and its consequences as it spreads throughout our world. Ecclesiastes says that there is a time to laugh and a time to cry. As we look into our world what time is it? Sin and its effects are everywhere. It is the mourning over sin.
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace.”
H. Our state as humans apart from the grace of God in soul, in word and in deeds. We understand that we are poor in spirit not able to do anything about this and now our emotions kick in and we mourn. Mourn over our sin and sinfulness but we also mourn over the sin of the world and its effects.
Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions.
I. Mourning over sin is an essential. Mourning because we are poor in spirit is necessary for salvation. There must be conviction before conversion. No one is truly a citizen of the kingdom of God who has not mourned over his or her sins. You cannot or will not be forgiven if you have not mourned for your sins.
J. A writer one wrote in a article in the Chicago-Sun Times 1983. A philosophy that teaches that there is one thing worse than sin. That is denial of sin, which makes forgiveness impossible. This is in essence, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
K. The saddest thing we will witness in a life is not simply a sorrowing heart, but a heart that is incapable of mourning over sin, it will have no grace upon it. Without being poor in spirit no one enters the kingdom of God. Likewise, without mourning, because we are poor in spirit, over sin no one receives the comfort of forgiveness and salvation grace and mercy.
L. True Christianity manifests itself in what we cry over and what we laugh about. So often we laugh at the things that we should weep over and weep over the things we should laugh at. In our heart of hearts, what do we weep about? What do we laugh about? A time to laugh and a time to cry… what time is it?
II. What is Our Comfort?
-The comfort of the gospel.
A. But for many today… we flee mourning. We don’t want it. We want happiness. We do all that we can to flee mourning, grief and sorrow. And we will stay away from anything that will cause us to feel bad. Charles Colson writes,
“Why is it that today sin is so seldom written or preached about? The answer is in dramatic collapse, for to truly confront the sin within us is a devastating experience. If pastors preached on sin, says Colson, many people would flee their church pews never to return.”
B. We had a visit from a solid Christian couple out of the blue. They came into our parking lot and thought I bet they preach the Word of God here. They said… and boy did you… Be encouraged Shane, that was one of the best presentations of the reality of sin and articulation of the gospel we have ever heard. And thanked us for being faithful and left feeling very encouraged in mourning over their sin and being comforted by the gospel in so many words.
C. There is nothing that brings more reason to rejoice in feeling the true sting of conviction over sin and the true comfort we receive from the gospel. And for this we rejoice. We are comforted now in Christ, we will continue to be comforted in Christ and we will be fully comforted in knowing that it will all end one day…
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
D. And yet it remains… it is hard hearing the truth. And what truth? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous no not one. No one does good not a single one. There is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. The scriptures show that we are all spiritually bankrupt unable to do what we need to do before God.
E. The punishment is even more disturbing. It is the reality of the wrath of the living God. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It is the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth forever. It is eternal fire and darkness for all eternity. The worm never dies. The place reserved for the devil and his angels.
F. But Shane I did not do anything all that bad in life. It does not matter for the Bible says that if we have broken the smallest of commands we are as guilty as those who have broken all of it.
G. So is there a reason for mourning and sorrow. Yes. All of this is true and there is nothing we can do about it. Poor in Spirt. Those who mourn. The Apostle Paul got it…
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
H. But the promise that our Lord gave… there is comfort for us. Conviction comes before Conversion. Be comforted today. I have comforting good news. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.
I. The promises continue to flow… If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hearts that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and you will have life in His name.
J. Oh what a comfort it is… And Again, the Heidelberg Catechism asks the question “What is your only comfort in life and death?”
That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.
