Sunday Sermon Matthew 5:1-5 (2)

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

PRAYER

Lord, your word says blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted and God Texas and all of the world is mourning over the tragedy that occurred this week so we please ask that you would comfort the broken hearted and encourage those who have suffered such great loss. Help us Father, to not become desensitized to the sin of this world and our own. Lord today, would you teach us what it means to mourn and be comforted by you! Not by strength, nor by power, by by your Spirit heavenly Father. Remove all distractions and speak to our hearts.

In Jesus Name! We Love you! Amen

Review

You might be wondering why we stopped in verse 5 today???

It is because we will cover these two verses as we exegete this text.

Last week we slowed down the plow are we turned the motor down to turtle speed, because we must first understand the depths of what it means to be poor in spirit.

Poor in spirit means that we are spiritual bankrupt, that we are in deep spiritual poverty.

And this is not only the beginning of our great salvation, but this is how we stay near the heart of the Father.

This is where we all start church! I can’t, He can, and I need to let Him!

This is where we let go and let God

This is where surrender starts and surrender stays

It is when we think we are capable of doing life by ourselves that pride enters our lives and goes before the fall.

I think we need to remember that the climate that Jesus walked into, was one of serious religiosity and politics

When Jesus starts his sermon, he is very kind, affirming, and compassionate.

He turns Judaism upside down and says things that are contrary to the religion of the day.

Let’s remember that there is a multitude of people here, but the sermon is for his disciples...

So we are blessed, when we are poor in spirit church and understand our spiritual poverty.

Mark 2:16–17 NKJV

And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Church, those who need THE Physician are poor in spirit!

How many of you came to Jesus on a winning streak?

By the way, notice I did not say religion.

Relgion cannot reform our flesh, but it can enslave us, and blind us, and stop us from seeing our spiritual poverty.

Jesus stepped into a very religious culture

EVERYONE has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence.” That means every person – regardless of titles, bank accounts, possessions, and accolades – is spiritually destitute. Our sin puts all of us in a helpless, hopeless, and desperate state. Outside of Christ, we are spiritually and morally bankrupt.

Matthew 5:4 NKJV

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

So for us to enter the kingdom of heaven and be disciples we must be poor in spirit

Then Jesus moves onto mourning and comfort, why??

I think it is important for us to remember ministry started he said:

Matthew 4:17 NKJV

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus ministry was one of teaching, preaching, and healing for sure, but is crucial as we make our way through the Be-attitudes that we remember he said this.

To enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus is laying out principles for entrance and not only entrance, but these principles will keep us there.

Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but if you think about your salvific story, most of these beatitudes were present and these are what we need to be a life long disciple of his.

Jesus shifts from spiritual poverty, from being poor in spirit, to mourning. And we are not talking about morning, noon, and night...

What should we be morning over church?

Let’s first look at the word mourning:

Mourn-pentheo- to cry or lament, grieve, bewail, sorrow, to mourn for the dead.

There are in the Greek language nine different verbs used in the New Testament that speak of grief. This is the strongest of the nine. This is the most severe. But the very fact that there are nine different verbs in one language to express the concept of grief is a pretty good indication that it is a way of life, that it is part and parcel of just living. And, in fact, the whole of man’s history is the story of tears, and it’s the story of sorrow, and, by the way, we have had a lot of it but we haven’t had anything like what is yet to come.

Everyone of us have mourned and may still be mourning over loss, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a career or job, the loss of a relationship, the loss of finances, the loss of our health and this word can mean this, but the most significant meaning is not outside ourselves, but rather inside.

The Lord does comfort all who have suffered loss church because this is his character, but we are talking about discipleship here, we are talking about how to be righteous so here it is....

To mourn is to care deeply, to know godly sorrow for sin, to be deeply concerned about the evil in the world and to know the meaning of suffering because of the sin, injustice, and perversion in society.

When we mourn over our sin and the sins of our community, state, nation, others, and the world, Jesus assures us that we will be comforted and we will look at being comforted in a moment.

But first I would like to take a CLOSER LOOK at morning over sin, for when we have this, repentance is a by-product.

Look at what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth as he called them out on their sin in love:

2 Corinthians 7:8–10 NKJV

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Paul did not regret sending this letter to the Corinthians even though it caused them great sorrow or morning if you may.

Why???

Paul knew that their sorrow over their sin would lead them to repentance and thus to obedience.

This is godly sorrow.

But wait! I have another illustration I would like us to look at in Leviticus

The first offering that a man of Israel was required to bring to God in the tabernacle was the burnt offering. Listen to all that had to be done to an animal that served as the symbolic substitute for the sinner who seeks to approach the holy God of Israel.

Leviticus 1:3–9 NKJV

‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

That's what a sinner had to do in order to approach God.

And as hard as it may be to do, I suggest that we place ourselves, in our imaginations, in the position of the one who offered such a sacrifice.

How do you think you would feel about your sin while you watched, as such a thing was being done for you?

You'd certainly get a sense of the dreadful seriousness of your sins, wouldn't you?

Now, your initial reaction to such a thing might be to be repulsed by it and turn away from it. But please, instead, make yourself stop and think about it.

Can you imagine watching such an ugly procedure of death being performed, knowing that it was something that was absolutely necessary in order for you - a sinner - to even be able to approach God?

Can you imagine how you'd feel, knowing that it was your sins that made such a thing necessary?

Even more gruesome was the description of what needed to be done in the case of a peace offering;

Leviticus 3:6–11 NKJV

‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord is of the flock, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. ‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Church, it was the sinner himself who had to kill the sacrifice before the LORD; and then watch as the priest drained the blood and sprinkled it all over. T

Then, he had to watch as the animal was divided in such a meticulous manner - with fat and entrails taken out and spread upon the wood of the altar. What a sobering pageant of blood and death it must have been to watch - especially knowing that it was because of your sins that it was being done.

How vividly the cost of your sin would have been displayed before you - in all its bloody, gory detail!

And as I read this text, I wonder how anyone making such an offering could do so without going through a deep sense of personal, inward mourning for their sins!

For years, I've read those passages and thought to myself, "How glad I am that I live in the age of grace! How glad I am that such things are no longer necessary!"

But I was wrong to think that way.

It's true that I live in the age of grace, and that I no longer need to come to God through the sacrifice of an animal.

And it's true that I'm very glad for that.

But the fact is that death is still as necessary as it ever was for my sins!

My sins are as costly now as they ever where! And so are yours. The only difference now is that Jesus became our sacrifice; and He has already paid the price for our sins fully at the cross. He paid that horrible price but once; and now, the price need never be paid again.

But we must never forget that our sins still made His gruesome death, and the shedding of His blood, so terribly necessary.

Hebrews 9:22 NKJV

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Today, when I look upon the cross and try to understand the great price my sins cost my precious Savior, how can I feel anything about my sins but great mourning, and sorrow, and deep remorse?

If I'm truly a disciple of the Son of God, how could I be indifferent, or insensitive, or hard-hearted to the great price of the sins that resulted in so much of His own suffering?

Perhaps you can see now why this second Beatitude must follow from the first. It's because it's not enough to simply recognize - in a merely intellectual way - that I am a bankrupt sinner before God.

That's the point at which I must start; but it's not there that I stop. Once I realize the poverty of my soul, I must also feel God's own grief and sorrow and pain for my sins. It's not enough to have made confession; I must also experience contrition! And that sense of mourning over our sins is what this second Beatitude is meant to instill in us: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

When you realize you’re a sinner and when you mourn over your sin, the Lord will come to you and say, “I don’t condemn you. Go your way and sin no more.” That’s what the woman caught in the act of adultery heard, as did the prostitute who fell at the feet of Jesus weeping. “Leave her alone, Pharisees,” Jesus said. “The one who is forgiven much loves much.” In the state of realizing our poverty and in our mourning, we truly enter into the kingdom and are comforted.

Jesus assures such of the comfort of God, for it is in our mourning church that one draws near to God and God in turn draws near to him.

There is a direct relationship between the word for “comfort” and the word describing the Holy Spirit as the Comforter for the believer (John 14:16).

Comfort- parakaleo- v. — to be or become consoled for sorrow or distress. To encourage, to come along one’s side, to strengthen, to restore to health.

As we mourn over our sin and the sins of this nation and others, we will enjoy the presence of God.

I leave you with three examples of this for the Word of God:

King David- he was to be at war as the king’s were always at war in the spring time and he decided not to go. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and sinned.

I do not believe that David just up and sinned with Bathsheba, but that he struggled with lust even before this happened.

David was on the roof of his palace and looked over and saw Bathsheba bathing and called for her.

He committed adultery , gets her pregnant, and has her husband Uriah killed .

He attempted to hide his sin, and be silent and God who is rich in mercy sent Nathan to confront him and call him bluff!!!

Psalm 32:3–7 NKJV

When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

We see that David mourned and after this became a man after God’s own heart!

2. Then we see the prophet Isaiah in the first six chapter of Isaiah writing about the judgements of God on Israel for their unfaithfulness to the Lord and in chapter 6 after King Uzziah dies we see that Isaiah has a vision:

Isaiah 6:1–9 NKJV

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

We see Isaiah morning over his sin and over the sins of his people.

For if the lips are unclean church, so his the heart, because Jesus said out of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Isaiah notices his own unworthiness and mourns, when this mourning happened, God who is rich in mercy sent an angel to comfort him.

The coal is symbolic of God’s purifying work and that repentance is painful church.

3. Peter- Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times:

Matthew 26:33–35 NKJV

Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

The narrative unfolds and Peter deny’s Jesus 3xs just as Jesus said.

Matthew 26:75 NKJV

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter mourned over his sin, he was finally a broken man and Jesus comes to him and comforts him just like he does us.

What needs to be mourned in your life? Have the tears stopped and are the ready to roll again?

Remember, godly sorrow leads to repentance and repentance leads to obedience.

Prayer

Benediction

Psalm 51:17 NKJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:10 NKJV

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

THE LORD BLESS YOU!

YOUR MISSION STARTS NOW!

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