Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes - week 2

Blessed are those who mourn...

It was in 1962 that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had a hit song called “Big Girls Don’t Cry”

And that seems to be the idea for guys doesn’t it?

We tell our sons to “suck it up” and crying is almost seen as shameful for men unless

I think the most poignant example of this comes from the movie “A League of Their Own”

Tom Hanks says “There’s no crying in Baseball!!!”

In fact I think it was Ron Swanson who said the only time it’s acceptable for a man to cry is at: funerals, the grand canyon and at the end of Old Yeller

That’s just how we are: chin up, chest out, buck up, suck it up buttercup!

That’s just how we are as men

As ladies, y’all have it easy, you don’t need a reason to cry, you can just feel like it and y’all can have a good cry.

But contrary to that belief, it is acceptable for not just women but also men to cry

There are all sorts of reasons for crying.

And in scripture we’re given many examples of tears being shed.

There are tears of devotion, like Mary shed on Jesus’ feet.

There are tears of concern, like the Apostle Paul cried as he preached to the Ephesians.

There are tears of regret, like those shed by the Ephesian leaders as they said good-bye to Paul.

There are tears of anguish, shed by the Jesus as He wrestled over the will of God, and tears of compassion, which Jesus wept as He gazed at the city of Jerusalem.

And of course there are the tears of sorrow that accompany death and disappointment in this life.

And of course there are the tears of sorrow that accompany death and disappointment in this life.

In fact, says that God bottles our tears and keeps them, and they are special to our Heavenly Father.

The Bible never asks us to pretend that life isn’t hard and we don’t hurt.

It doesn’t tell us to pretend sorrow is not real.

You cannot make truth disappear merely by wishing it so.

And because of choices and circumstances beyond our control the only response we may know is to weep

There are times when the devastating result of choices and circumstances that are consequences of our sin should lead us to not only tears of remorse but tears of repentance.

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Last week we began our focus on the sermon on the mount

What’s unique? - Jesus’ first recorded message given to His disciples

Relevant then and relevant now because...

It shows us what repentance needs to look like in the Kingdom of God

It shows us what righteousness needs to look like in the Kingdom of God

Ultimately it shows how we’re to live our life before God and with others

There is a personal level and a community level to our living

There is not one paragraph in this message from Jesus that does not show us the contrast between how a Christian should live vs. how a non-Christian lives.

And while we spent a good bit of our time last week looking at the setting of Jesus’ message this week I want to dive into the second beatitude

But to do so we need to keep it in the context of the passage

So if you’ll look back at vs. 3 we saw where Jesus begins with the word “blessed are the poor in spirit”

And if you’ll remember we’re using D.A. Carson’s definition for blessed here to help us understand the true meaning

Because translating Blessed here as “happy” doesn’t cut it.

So when we see Blessed here in this passage (9 times) we can understand that as :

“Fundamentally approved by God.”

So looking at vs. 3 we can understand that the one who is broken over their condition before God is fundamentally approved by God and their reward is the kingdom of Heaven.

And you may have missed it, but as I was winding down last week I made the comment that Jesus begins with this because it is the starting point for His disciples.

The beginning point for any follower of Christ is to recognize their own depravity, that apart from God, we are all deserving of the wrath and judgment of God, we have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing to warrant the favor of heaven,

That person is fundamentally approved by God!

This is what it means to be poor in spirit.

We belong with the tax collector that stood there with his head bowed beating his chest pleading his case saying “be merciful to me God, I’m a sinner!”

So that’s our context

Now look at vs. 4

It’s easy to look at these beatitudes and see a checklist, thinking that they have no relation to each other, and maybe Jesus was just making a “grocery list” randomly choosing things

But Christ was intentional here

These Beatitudes are building off of each other ( want you to keep that in mind)

So when Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn”, it should cause us to ask the question “How does this relate to being poor in spirit?”

Well as we did last week and as we’ll do with many of these beatitudes I want us to look at what they are not, what they are and what the result/reward is for exhibiting the quality/characteristic

What mourning is not:

If you were to ask a random person off the street “What is mourning” , while the definitions may vary, almost every response would deal with death

Go to google, and almost every article will focus on those who are mourning the loss of someone (articles on Barbara Bush 92 and Avicii 28- aveechee -swedish dj)

But as I scanned the pages, mourning was associated with death and you’re probably no different when you hear the word mourn

So, at first glance, this beatitude from Christ, we can be tempted to associate the mourning that Jesus is talking about refers to the death of a loved one

After all so much of Scripture puts an emphasis on mourning those who have died

It even prescribes how to mourn

And this morning you may know someone who is personally dealing with the death of a loved one and this topic of mourning is all to real to them

And while they may just be entering into a season of mourning or maybe it’s even turned into years of mourning - they don’t appear to be comforted at all

In fact mourning can often lead to the opposite of comfort - resentment, anger, despair

Some say that if the loved one who died was a follower of Christ - then we shouldn’t mourn but if they weren’t a believer than that’s why you should mourn

Not true - on both accounts, mourning is a much needed release of emotion,

You can deal with the death of someone without mourning

And I’d like to say that if the death of a loved one was a believer that mourning is only temporary for some it can last for far longer than it should.

So while mourning does refer to bereavement and grief, and by all means God does comfort those who mourn those who have died...

Also what Jesus isn’t saying here is that as Christians we’re not expected to walk around in a depressed state all of the time

Or that we’re to have this morbid, doom and gloom, downcast attitude as believers

But in this context, Jesus has something else in mind

And after all

What mourning is here:

Just as we saw last week that “poor in spirit” was not material but spiritual

‘

“Poor in spirit” is the recognition of our brokenness before God and an understanding of their need for a dependence on God

And with that as our foundation(starting point) to applying these beatitudes(blessings) to our faith

When Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn” the idea is that if you recognize your condition before God than what causes you to be broken/separated from Him should cause you to mourn

This is how the beatitudes begin to build off of each other

Just as “poor in spirit” is spiritual so is the mourning that Jesus teaches on here

And if we’re going to mourn what it is that has us broken/separated before God then we’re going to be broken over our sinfulness before Him

Now I don’t know about you but have you ever thought about mourning for sin

Usually when we mourn the death of a loved one, the underlying reason of pain is the loss of relationship and the loss of the physical person

But doesn’t it make sense that we mourn over our sin because it is sin that severs our relationship with God

We should mourn the fact that sin has robbed us of our innocence

How to Be Happy according to Jesus (Study Guide) Happiness Is Discovered When We Sorrow for Our Own Sin

Generally in our culture, we simply don’t deal with sin. The famed psychologist Carl Menninger, who studied the effects of sin in his famous book Whatever Happened to Sin?, noted that when an individual fails to deal with the wrongs in his life, he never takes a step toward getting better. We call ourselves victims, always blaming someone else for our faults. A thief doesn’t own up to his sin; he blames it on his deprived childhood. A murderer doesn’t admit his sin; he blames it on abuse. But when a man faces up to the things in his life that he knows violate the holiness of God, he mourns over his own sin.

When was the last time you shed tears over the sin in your life?

Generally in our culture, we simply don’t deal with sin.

Psychologist Carl Menninger, who studied the effects of sin wrote in his famous book Whatever Happened to Sin?, noted that when an individual fails to deal with the wrongs in his life, he never takes a step toward getting better. Instead we call ourselves victims, always blaming someone else for our faults.

Jeremiah, David. How to Be Happy according to Jesus: Study Guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996. Print.

And we know this to be true don’t we?

A thief doesn’t own up to his sin; he blames it on his deprived childhood.

A murderer doesn’t admit his sin; he blames it on abuse.

An addict doesn’t admit his sin; he blames it on his pain

But when a man faces up to the things in his life that he knows violate the holiness of God, he mourns over his own sin.

And our problem today is that we’re not mournful over our sin

We’re not even remotely shamed over our sin anymore

You see, sin is a rejection of God’s rule in our life.

, when Eve listened to the serpent instead of God, it was a rejection of God’s provision and protection and a dependence on her own reasoning

Our sin is no different when we sin, what we’re saying is that our way is better than His - after all don’t we have it all figured out?

And we don’t take our sin as serious as we should

It is sin that separates us from a right relationship with God

And Christ here is telling us that we are to mourn over that which separates us from Him

Think about it with me for a minute:

Because of sin we have a brokenness in this world - in creation

In Paul tells us:

English Standard Version Chapter 8

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Against it’s will creation was subjected to the curse

When God completed His perfect creation, there was no disorder, no chaos, no conflict, no struggle, no pain, no deterioration, and no death.

Yet our lives today are filled with all those things all the time.

Because of Adam’s sin, creation was tainted and cursed.

And as a result there are natural disasters, diseases, and all kinds of effects that bring devastation because of sin

And it is right that we should mourn over the effects of sin’ entrance into this world

We should also mourn over the sins of those around us.

When we see a brother or sister giving into sin, or sinning against us, it should break our hearts and cause us to grieve because we know of the deadly effects of sin

But just as we should mourn over sin’s entrance in creation and sin in the lives of others

We need to mourn over the sin in our own lives

Sin is not just personal, it’s not a victim-less crime

Just as others have sinned against you, you too have sinned against others

Can’t we just ask for forgiveness and go on?

And our sin is never in private - All sin is against God

All sin is deadly - it is what has created the chasm between us and God

But you may ask yourself, “why do we need to mourn over it?” “Can’t we just ask for forgiveness and go on?”

Let me begin by saying that asking for forgiveness is definitely needed in being reconciled with God

But asking for forgiveness is hollow unless it is accompanied by confession and repentance

Like a child who is forced to say they’re sorry to their sibling, we can can say sorry to God without any depth or meaning

If we truly want to be forgiven of our sin, our sin needs to be confessed

Confession literally means to agree with God - so when we confess our sin before God, we are agreeing that our sinful actions or thoughts are against God’s rule in our life.

Confession is an agreement that we are in rebellion as Him

And with Confession, there needs to be repentance

A 180 from the path of sin that was leading us away from God to a path of righteousness that follows God

And confession and repentance can’t take root in our lives without the recognition and mourning over our sin

Do you see why Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn”?

Because the man/woman who is broken over their condition, who is confessing and repentant of their sin, they are fundamentally approved by God!

The Result/Reward:

Jesus says the result of being mournful is that you will be comforted

And what brings you comfort when you’re mournful over your brokeness?

Forgiveness.

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 2. Those Who Mourn (4)

Such mourners, who bewail their own sinfulness, will be comforted by the only comfort which can relieve their distress, namely the free forgiveness of God. ‘The greatest of all comfort is the absolution pronounced upon every contrite mourning sinner

People who mourn over their sin, will be comforted by the only comfort which can relieve their distress, namely the free forgiveness of God.

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 2. Those Who Mourn (4)

Such mourners, who bewail their own sinfulness, will be comforted by the only comfort which can relieve their distress, namely the free forgiveness of God. ‘The greatest of all comfort is the absolution pronounced upon every contrite mourning sinner

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 2. Those Who Mourn (4)

Such mourners, who bewail their own sinfulness, will be comforted by the only comfort which can relieve their distress, namely the free forgiveness of God. ‘The greatest of all comfort is the absolution pronounced upon every contrite mourning sinner

That is the most comforting to me, isn't it to you?

To come out of the presence of the Lord having confessed your sin and to know there is full and complete forgiveness

And that forgiveness only comes to those who believe in Christ’s sacrifice for them.

In fact, Greek text reads this way, "Blessed are those who mourn for they alone, or only they shall be comforted."

Only those who mourn over sin know true forgiveness.

And I'll tell you the most comforting reality of all realities is that all your sins are forgiven in Christ, right?

The world doesn’t get this

The world is anything but comforted because there is no hope apart from Christ.

Application/Conclusion :

So, how do you become a mourner?

How do I know if I'm a mourner?

Very simple, are you sensitive to sin or do you take pleasure in it?

Does it grieve you?

Do you mourn over the sins of others?

Do you mourn over the sins that you see in the people you know and the people you don't know?

Do you mourn over sin running rampant in the world?

Do you mourn mostly over your own sin?

Do you mourn the fact that the Father's world has been polluted by sin?

And most of all, do you mourn the fact that your own life is polluted by it?

You know you're a mourner if you're genuinely in your heart grieved over your sin and long to turn from it and seek the forgiveness of God and the blessing that He brings.

Secondly, you can know you're a mourner if you're comforted.

Do you know the joy of forgiveness?

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted

Do you have the comfort of forgiveness this morning?

If not would you like to, I’d love to show you how!