Mourning

Want to be Happy? Then Mourn

Matthew 5:4 KJV 1900

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

To mourn is to grieve over something. It could also be rendered to lament. There is also idea of bewailing oneself. These are the reactions, but the reason for this type of attitude is sin.

Blessed or happy, are the poor in spirit, those who realize they have nothing to offer a holy and righteous God, blessed or happy also are those who mourn because of their sinfulness. Why? Why would such attitudes toward sin make us happy? John Phillips offers this explanation:

"We are plunged into sorrow for sin. The sorrow is for our sin and the sin we see all around, sin that breaks God's heart as well as His laws, sin that breaks our hearts too. Those who thus mourn are promised comfort."

Warren Wiersbe suggests, "We mourn over sin and despise it. We see sin the way God sees it and seek to treat it the way God does."

Is this not contrary to what the world says? The world stands and proclaims that the only way to find "true happiness" is to indulge in all this life has to offer. What about Moses? Spared his life when all the Hebrew males were to be cast into the Nile. Rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, nursed by his own mother, raised in the palace, educated in the finest schools the world could offer, shown all the worldly pleasures, yet, the Bible says when he was "…come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season."

Sure, sin offers "pleasure", but God offers eternal blessing.

Interrogative: Do you want to be happy?

Proposition: Then mourn.

TS: What should we expect to gain from our sorrow? How about the fact that…?

Blessings often come from sorrow…

What blessings could we possibly hope to gain from our sorrow? Well…

Psalm 34:18

Psalm 34:18 KJV 1900

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

What should our heart be broken over?

Our sin, of course. Often, we find David brokenhearted over his sin, Ps. 32:1-2 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile.”

A contrite spirit speaks of brokenness or being crushed to powder

The golden calf which Aaron made, ground to powder…same word

What is the benefit of such an attitude toward our sin? God will be near us, ready to forgive, able to help us.

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

This verse promises that God will hear our prayers

Psalm 66:18 says "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me"

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

The Lord will not despise me, we can have assurance of fellowship

These are but a sampling of some of the blessings which come from a proper attitude toward sin. Mourning over your sin will lead to blessings, but what else should we expect to gain from sorrow over sin?

Mourning and Sorrow often bring revival…

Jonah 2:5-10 “The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: The depth closed me round about, The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with her bars was about me for ever: Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: And my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

Jonah, I'm sure, had his reasons for refusing to go to Nineveh, and we won't try to examine them, but the point is he told God NO!

When we tell God no, we are really saying to Him, "God, you do not know what is best for me!"

Refusing to obey God is rebellion, and rebellion will lead you to a fish's belly - maybe not literally, but spiritually you can rest assured.

Have you ever been in the fish's belly? The only way out is the way Jonah discovered…

Jonah repented

True repentance starts with a broken heart

True repentance ends with God's forgiveness

Psalm 126:5-6 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Why don't we have revival in our country and in our churches?

Because we refuse to humble ourselves

The word humble means to bow down, bend the knee, to subject yourself to someone who is higher than you

My friends, when you're broken over your sin, when you mourn over the sinfulness of your country, your church, and your life, you will humble yourself, you'll bow down before the throne of God and beg His forgiveness, beg His mercy, and praise Him for His grace

Mourning over sin will lead to God's blessing, mourning over sin will often lead to revival, but most importantly…

Sorrow often leads sinners to be saved…

When Jesus' friend Lazarus was sick unto death, Jesus knew about it, even before word came to Him, yet He waited.

When the word came to Him Jesus said in John 11:4 "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."

Can you, or I, think of a better reason for one of God's beloved to become sick unto death, other than for God to receive the glory when a lost person turns to Jesus for forgiveness of sin?

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted". It's one thing to be sorrowful over the loss of a loved one, it's quite another to be sorrowful over your own lost condition.

Jesus said in John 11 "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent may believe; nevertheless, let us go unto him." If you do not know mourning, you cannot know comfort. If you do not know Jesus, you cannot know the comfort of His forgiveness.

Conclusion: "Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." John R. Rice says: "Here is a paradox. Jesus seems to say that it is happy to be sad; it is fortunate to be unfortunate; that we are to rejoice over weeping. Indeed, that is true, though it does not seem so to human wisdom."

1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV 1900

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

The wisdom of this world would tell you that if you want to be happy then indulge in all the pleasures this world has to offer, but God says if you want to be happy then weep and lament over your sinfulness.

Until we are willing to abase ourselves to our fleshly desires and say NO! to our flesh and YES! To our Lord, we will never know true happiness.

Until we are willing to fall on our face in spiritual sackcloth and ashes and beg God to forgive us, poor, ragged, filthy sinners, we will never find comfort in this world!

Until we begin to look heavenward to resolve our problems, we will not be at peace in this life. Do you want to be happy? Then mourn.