Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Matthew 5:4
Transcript
- 0:00Happy of God's word, which I hope you have with you this morning and turn the gospel of Matthew chapter five.
- 0:09! Our text for today will be Matthew chapter five, verse four.
- 0:14And in case you've been with us for some time and you weren't here with us last week, I have not abandoned the plan to preach about the law and the Christian life, but I've delayed the plan a bit until we get to Matthew.
- 0:29Matthew five, verses 17 through 20. So if you're scratching your head, it's OK.
- 0:34We're doing just a little bit of a diversion before we get to that place.
- 0:39And my hope is that studying through the Sermon on the Mount will serve you greatly over the coming months.
- 0:47Last week, we looked at Matthew chapter five, verses one through three, where we noted first in verses one and two who it is that Jesus is teaching in this sermon.
- 1:01And we can read seeing the crowds. He went up on the mountain.
- 1:04And when he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying.
- 1:14So Jesus here is teaching his disciples, those who were already following him in his ways.
- 1:22And he's speaking to those who are citizens of his kingdom.
- 1:29Remember that the Sermon on the Mount is understood to be a declaration of the kingdom of God.
- 1:36In the previous chapter, Matthew four, verse 17.
- 1:40Matthew records for us from that time, Jesus began to preach, saying,
- 1:44Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- 1:50The kingdom has come because the king has come.
- 1:56Jesus here is teaching what those who are citizens of his kingdom will look like.
- 2:04And he began teaching them by saying in verse three,
- 2:08Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 2:15I spoke to you last week at length about what it means to recognize your spiritual poverty,
- 2:21to see that you have no good thing to offer God and to throw yourself upon his mercy for the salvation of your soul.
- 2:32Summarize this idea so well in the following line from the hymn, Rock of Ages.
- 2:38Nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross.
- 2:44I cling.
- 2:45It is those who see their spiritual poverty who possess the kingdom of heaven.
- 2:53And therefore, Jesus calls them blessed.
- 2:58This idea of being blessed, I think, is often misunderstood.
- 3:06The Greek word has a great deal of complexity to it.
- 3:09It's sometimes translated as happy or joyful.
- 3:14We could say doing well or thriving or the single word I like best, although I feel like all of these English words are lacking in some measure.
- 3:26But the one I like best is flourishing.
- 3:31Flourishing.
- 3:32Flourishing are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 3:36Flourishing are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- 3:41Flourishing.
- 3:42Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of heaven enters into a world turned upside down by sin and seeks to turn it right side up.
- 3:55So to the carnal mind, everything he teaches here will seem backwards.
- 4:02It is the humble, sad, meek, merciful, peacemaking, persecuted pursuers of righteousness that are well and will do well forever.
- 4:14So join me as we take a look at the second of Jesus' proclamations of blessing.
- 4:23Before I read to you verse 4, which I've already done, but officially read to you verse 4.
- 4:30Let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
- 4:34It was written for his glory and for our good.
- 4:37We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
- 4:44Matthew 5 verse 4.
- 4:48Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- 4:54Now this word, blessed, I'm going to keep trying across the coming weeks to unfold it maybe in further and further degree.
- 5:04Help us better wrap our minds around it.
- 5:07I think it's adequate to simply apply this idea of flourishing as we look through the text.
- 5:13But I want to give you a little brief history of why we arrive at these being called the Beatitudes and why I prefer to call them the Blesseds.
- 5:26In the Vulgate, which is the Latin translation of the New Testament, each of these blessings begins with the word Beate, Blessedness.
- 5:37So blessed are the poor in spirit would be in Latin, Beate, Paperis, Spiritu.
- 5:43This Latin noun, Beatitudo, was coined by Cicero, who had a great influence on the Latin language, to describe a state of blessedness.
- 5:55So blessedness as a part of your being, Beatitudo, and was later incorporated within the chapter headings written for Matthew 5 in various printed versions of the Vulgate.
- 6:10Now this word was Anglicagise, which Anglicanized, which means put into English, to Beatitudes in the Great Bible, the Great Bible of 1540,
- 6:22which was the version authorized by Henry VIII to be used in the Church of England, spelled with a Y, Beatitudes, and has over time taken on a preferred spelling, more American English spelling, with an I instead.
- 6:38So if you wonder, as your heading probably says in your Bible, the Beatitudes, you can replace that word, the Blesseds, right?
- 6:45This proclamation of blessing.
- 6:48Who is it that is blessed, who is flourishing in this world?
- 6:55So our text today says, it is those who mourn.
- 7:02What does it mean to mourn?
- 7:05Is Jesus here simply talking about any kind of sadness?
- 7:09Let's say, do you know.
- 7:12And so let's look at this idea of mourning with two points.
- 7:16Number one, the feeling.
- 7:18What is this mourning that Jesus is referring to?
- 7:22And secondly, the right kind of mourning or the reason for this feeling.
- 7:30So number one, the feeling.
- 7:32Jesus says, blessed are those who mourn.
- 7:36Now, in the New Testament, there are nine different Greek terms to speak of sorrow.
- 7:45Truly, sadness is woven into the very fabric of our human existence.
- 7:51The word used by Jesus here of those nine carries the very strongest meaning.
- 7:59This was a word in Greek literature, typically reserved for the sorrow felt for the loss of a loved one.
- 8:08This is the mourning here that Jesus is talking about.
- 8:13I'll give you an example from the New Testament, Mark 16, verse 10.
- 8:18This is after Mary has seen Jesus resurrected, says she went and told those who have been with him.
- 8:27They don't know yet of his resurrection.
- 8:29She went and told of the resurrection as they mourned and wept.
- 8:35She goes to the disciples who have found themselves together deeply sad because of the loss of Jesus Christ.
- 8:44And so this feeling here that Jesus is talking about is to experience a deep sense of inner agony.
- 8:54Many of us have felt this way.
- 8:57If you've not, I feel happy for you this morning that you've not felt this kind of inner agony.
- 9:05That your life could just end and you'd be fine because you have such a sense of sadness.
- 9:11There is no light sadness that Jesus here refers to.
- 9:20And he calls people that are that kind of inwardly sorrowful, agonizing blessing.
- 9:29So what is the proper and right reason for such a feeling to be had?
- 9:37Well, but our feelings can be so very fickle.
- 9:42We can feel deeply.
- 9:45And those feelings, although deep, can be very misdirected.
- 9:50So we must consider if Jesus here is speaking of a particular morning.
- 9:57Does he mean to say that anyone who is sad will one day be comforted?
- 10:02I think not.
- 10:04I'm suggesting to you this morning that it is a particular sorrow that will be comforted.
- 10:10Paul makes a sorrow distinction in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10, where he says this.
- 10:17For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.
- 10:27So there's this kind of sorrow, godly grief, and it produces repentance.
- 10:34Whereas worldly grief produces death.
- 10:39Leads us not to the cross of Christ, but rather away from it.
- 10:43So we can see there is a distinction made in the scripture between types of sorrow.
- 10:51So we want to find ourselves in today's text with godly mourning.
- 10:57We want to look at this text.
- 10:59We want to see 5, verse 4, and say, yes, I am one of those who mourn.
- 11:04I understand what this word means, and I feel this feeling, and it is placed on the proper reason.
- 11:13So what is it that produces this godly mourning?
- 11:19It follows from verse 3 that Jesus means that citizens of his kingdom will feel a deep sadness over their spiritual poverty.
- 11:29They recognized how impoverished they are.
- 11:34Nothing good to offer to my God apart from Christ.
- 11:38This certainly follows.
- 11:40It is true that this is part of this godly mourning.
- 11:45And we're going to talk a bit more about this.
- 11:48But I am of the opinion that it is too simplistic to pair verse 4 with verse 3 and leave it alone at that point.
- 11:58Verse 3 is not merely the condition and verse 4 the resulting feeling.
- 12:04These two certainly interconnect.
- 12:07They definitely do.
- 12:09But they also stand alone.
- 12:14Can we read verse 4 and understand verse 4?
- 12:18Not completely comprehending and wrapping our minds around verse 3.
- 12:22I believe that we can.
- 12:26Verse 4 has a depth that goes beyond verse 3.
- 12:32In order to see this, we have to have a greater understanding of Matthew's gospel account as a whole.
- 12:42Matthew sets in his gospel record as a backdrop the Old Testament book of prophecy, Isaiah.
- 12:51He cites it often and he records Jesus' citation of it.
- 12:57Now likely Jesus cited from all kinds of texts.
- 13:01Matthew makes a particular point to cite Jesus' recitation of the book of Isaiah.
- 13:08Let me show you what I mean.
- 13:09You can flip with me if you want or you can just listen carefully.
- 13:12I'm going to give you two examples and I'm going to tell you every place else that he references Isaiah.
- 13:16So Matthew chapter 1, this is verse 22 and 23.
- 13:22After Matthew's summary of the birth of Jesus, and here he's citing Isaiah 7, 14.
- 13:28All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Isaiah.
- 13:35Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.
- 13:43Another example, Matthew chapter 3, verse 3.
- 13:47This is after Matthew's summary of John the Baptist's ministry.
- 13:51Here he cites Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3.
- 13:56For this is he who was spoken by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
- 14:02The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
- 14:09Okay, so there's two examples read to you.
- 14:12Let me give you some others very quickly.
- 14:14Matthew chapter 4, verses 14 and 15 is a reference to Isaiah 9, 1.
- 14:21Matthew 8, 17.
- 14:22Isaiah 53, 4.
- 14:25Matthew 12, 17 through 21.
- 14:28This is Isaiah 42, 1 and verse 4.
- 14:32Matthew 13, verses 14 and 15.
- 14:35This is Isaiah 6, 9.
- 14:36Matthew 15, verses 7 through 9.
- 14:40Isaiah 29, 13.
- 14:42Matthew 21, verse 13.
- 14:45Isaiah 56, verse 7.
- 14:49I'm sorry to you note takers.
- 14:50There's a lot there.
- 14:52The point being, there's this backdrop placed here.
- 14:57So not only would Matthew's original readers been familiar with the language of Isaiah,
- 15:04picking up his book, they would have already had Isaiah rolling around in their minds,
- 15:09but Matthew also clearly makes reference to what God spoke through the prophet.
- 15:15So he himself is loading this kind of thinking as people are picking up and reading this book.
- 15:21So, with that in mind, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 61.
- 15:35As you're getting there, let me just give you an aside.
- 15:37There's a hermeneutic danger in going to the computer and typing in words like mourn
- 15:43and just looking for all of the places that it exists in the scripture
- 15:47and making direct connections between them.
- 15:49I would encourage you not to do such a thing.
- 15:52Our English words do not always relate to each other directly,
- 15:56nor do they in their original language.
- 15:59My hope is that I've showed you what Matthew's intention likely was here, right?
- 16:04As he sets up this backdrop, as he's putting up a stage to say,
- 16:09listen to Isaiah.
- 16:11Reference Isaiah.
- 16:12I'm drawing your minds to the things that Isaiah prophesied.
- 16:16And then he tells us about this sermon that Jesus preaches,
- 16:20who would have also been very, very familiar with the book of Isaiah.
- 16:24So I hope you catch the connection that I'm making there.
- 16:28So Isaiah 61, and I'll read verses 1 through 4.
- 16:32I want you to pay careful attention to the word mourn.
- 16:39The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
- 16:41because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
- 16:46He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
- 16:48to proclaim liberty to the captives
- 16:50and the opening of the prison to those who are bound,
- 16:54to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
- 16:57and the day of vengeance of our God,
- 16:59to comfort all who mourn,
- 17:02to grant those who mourn in Zion,
- 17:05to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
- 17:08the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
- 17:12the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit,
- 17:15that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
- 17:17the planting of the Lord,
- 17:18that he may be glorified.
- 17:20They shall build up the ancient ruins.
- 17:23They shall raise up the former devastations.
- 17:25They shall repair the ruined cities,
- 17:28the devastations of many generations.
- 17:32Now, note the phrases in verses 2 and 3.
- 17:38There's three of them.
- 17:39End of verse 2,
- 17:39to comfort all who mourn.
- 17:42You see the direct connection here.
- 17:45Matthew's original reader's minds would have gone right to this place.
- 17:47Is he talking about the year of favor of the Lord?
- 17:52He certainly is.
- 17:53To grant to those who mourn headdresses instead of headdresses of ashes,
- 17:59the oil of gladness instead of this mourning.
- 18:04Now, Isaiah is writing for the sake of an exiled Israel.
- 18:10So why are they mourning, right?
- 18:13Isaiah 61.
- 18:14Why is Israel mourning?
- 18:17They're mourning the loss of their kingdom.
- 18:21And this prophecy is meant to cast their gaze forward to a time
- 18:25when the kingdom will be restored.
- 18:29This is the mourning that Jesus is referring to in today's text.
- 18:34The blessed mourners are those who see their sin
- 18:39and the effect of sin in the world
- 18:42and long for the coming kingdom of heaven.
- 18:47So it's not just their sin.
- 18:49It's sin.
- 18:50Includes their sin.
- 18:51Includes their own spiritual poverty.
- 18:53But it includes the spiritual poverty of the place in which we live.
- 18:58Beloved, if we rightly understand the world,
- 19:02we will mourn the brokenness of it.
- 19:06We, like exiled Israel, will long to see restoration and to go home.
- 19:14Do you see how this mourning goes even deeper?
- 19:18It broadens beyond just our spiritual poverty
- 19:21to all of the spiritual poverty of the world.
- 19:25Jesus had no sin of his own to mourn over,
- 19:31but he did mourn.
- 19:35John records the resurrection of Lazarus at the hands of Jesus,
- 19:38but before Jesus raised him from the dead,
- 19:41John records in John chapter 11, verse 33 and following,
- 19:45When Jesus saw Mary weeping and the Jews had come with her also weeping,
- 19:51he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
- 19:56And he said, Where have you laid him?
- 19:59They said to him, Lord, come and see.
- 20:03And then verse 35 records for us, Jesus wept.
- 20:09Here is Jesus.
- 20:10He's about to raise Lazarus from the dead.
- 20:13Clearly he loved this man.
- 20:16Why is it that he was weeping
- 20:18when he had the very power to raise him from the dead?
- 20:21Wouldn't all of us just go,
- 20:22Well, that's cool. That's fine.
- 20:24I can just raise him from the dead.
- 20:24It's not a problem at all.
- 20:28Because Jesus had the right perspective of the world, didn't he?
- 20:34He saw the brokenness of it.
- 20:37These people shattered because of death brought about by sin.
- 20:42Generally, sin in the world brought about this thing called death
- 20:47and the brokenheartedness of people and the destruction of sin in the world.
- 20:52And so Jesus joins with them as he's moved to also mourn.
- 20:57So Jesus wept over death and over the sorrow that death brings.
- 21:06Luke accounts for us Jesus' approach to Jerusalem in Luke chapter 19, verse 41 and following.
- 21:14This is another example for you.
- 21:16It says,
- 21:17When Jesus drew near and saw the city,
- 21:21he wept over it, saying,
- 21:23Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace.
- 21:30But now they are hidden from your eyes.
- 21:32For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you
- 21:36and surround you and hem you in on every side
- 21:38and tear you down to the ground, you and your children with you.
- 21:43And they will not leave one stone upon another in you
- 21:45because you did not know the time of your visitation.
- 21:49So he knows of the coming judgment
- 21:52placed on Israel and the city of Jerusalem
- 21:56when Rome would overthrow.
- 21:57And he weeps over it.
- 22:01Ah, the effect of sin.
- 22:04That you would just believe and turn from it.
- 22:08And this causes a great mourning on his behalf.
- 22:14Martin Lloyd-Jones in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount wrote this,
- 22:18It is the very antithesis of the spirit and mind and outlook of the world,
- 22:25which, as our Lord puts it, laughs now.
- 22:29Look at the world outside, even in a time of war.
- 22:33It still tries to go on not looking at the true situation,
- 22:37ignoring it and being happy.
- 22:39Let us eat, drink, and be merry is its motto.
- 22:42It laughs and says,
- 22:44Don't dwell too much upon these things.
- 22:47To mourn is the exact opposite.
- 22:50The Christian's attitude is essentially different.
- 22:55So, questions for you today.
- 22:59Do you mourn over this sin, broken world?
- 23:05Do you mourn first over your own sin?
- 23:08Being part of that very system.
- 23:12And when I ask that question,
- 23:13I don't mean to ask,
- 23:15Do you beat yourself up and punish yourself
- 23:17in an effort to try to pay for your sins?
- 23:19I'm not asking,
- 23:19Do you do penance for your sins?
- 23:23If you think this is the way that you pay for your sins,
- 23:26that's self-righteous pride.
- 23:29You can do nothing to atone for your sins.
- 23:32So, I don't mean that.
- 23:35Don't forget Jesus' very first lesson in this sermon.
- 23:39You're meant to be poor in spirit.
- 23:42We're meant to recognize our spiritual poverty.
- 23:45But does that spiritual poverty make us sad?
- 23:51Does it grieve you to see the blasphemous front
- 23:55to a holy God that your sin is?
- 23:58Does it grieve you to see your sin bring about the opposite
- 24:02of wholeness and flourishing in your life
- 24:06and in your relationships?
- 24:07When you see brokenness,
- 24:11that's not a direct result of your sin.
- 24:15Do you lament your part in the rebellion
- 24:18that brought it about?
- 24:22We live in a system that's infected by sin.
- 24:28What about the sin of others?
- 24:30What is your immediate reaction
- 24:35to the sin of another committed against you
- 24:38or otherwise?
- 24:39Is it to stand your ground and your rights?
- 24:44Or do you feel a sense of loss?
- 24:46Oh, the sadness when others sin against us.
- 24:51Many of you don't know this,
- 24:53and that's okay.
- 24:54I'm going to inform you in brief.
- 24:55But do you know that I get criticized as a pastor?
- 24:58And I get criticized by outsiders as a pastor?
- 25:03Did you know that from time to time,
- 25:04I get emails that are so fun to read,
- 25:07criticizing things I've said
- 25:10or things that I've done.
- 25:13Do those things puff me up?
- 25:16Stand my ground.
- 25:17How dare someone speak to me like this?
- 25:20Or do they make me sad?
- 25:21They ought to make me sad.
- 25:23They don't always.
- 25:23They ought to make me sad.
- 25:25Oh, this poor soul.
- 25:28Who thinks they know better.
- 25:30Who thinks they're walking in the truth.
- 25:32Who thinks they have a leg to stand on
- 25:34in criticism of me, fine,
- 25:37but of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- 25:40So what is your immediate reaction
- 25:42to these types of things?
- 25:43What's your immediate reaction to tragic news?
- 25:45Take, for example,
- 25:46the most recent school shooting in Florida.
- 25:50Do you immediately begin to engage
- 25:52in fruitless debates?
- 25:53Is this where your mind goes?
- 25:56Do you feel any sorrow
- 25:59for the wretchedness of this world?
- 26:02Sorrow for both victim and perpetrator?
- 26:07Exiles in this strange land
- 26:09should be longing for the restoration
- 26:11of all things.
- 26:14We hear news like this.
- 26:16It should break our hearts.
- 26:17When you're sitting in traffic,
- 26:20do you feel oh so very inconvenienced
- 26:23because your schedule
- 26:24is extremely important
- 26:25or are you concerned
- 26:26for what may have happened
- 26:27at the head of that traffic?
- 26:30When you roll by the accident,
- 26:32are you more interested
- 26:33in seeing what went on
- 26:35or are you concerned
- 26:36for the people
- 26:37who may have been hurt?
- 26:39Do you care about the very souls
- 26:40that may have been lost
- 26:41in that tragic accident?
- 26:43So many of us aim so much
- 26:47at ourselves.
- 26:50What about the sin of the cross?
- 26:54The goodness of God to us
- 26:55and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
- 26:57on the cross
- 26:58paid the debt of our sins.
- 27:02Yours and mine.
- 27:05When you think of the cross,
- 27:07you ought to mourn.
- 27:09There ought to be a part of you
- 27:09that mourns
- 27:10because you put him there.
- 27:12He bore the wrath of God
- 27:14for you.
- 27:18Isaac Watts,
- 27:19the great hymnist,
- 27:22wrote the following,
- 27:23Alas,
- 27:24and did my Savior bleed
- 27:26and did my Sovereign die?
- 27:29Would he devote that sacred head
- 27:31for such a worm as I?
- 27:34Was it for crimes I have done
- 27:36he groaned upon the tree?
- 27:39Thus might I hide
- 27:40my blushing faith
- 27:41while his dear cross
- 27:43appears?
- 27:44Dissolve my heart
- 27:45in thankfulness
- 27:46and melt mine eyes
- 27:48to tears.
- 27:51There is altogether
- 27:53a lack of mourning,
- 27:57seriousness
- 27:58in the American church.
- 28:01We are caught up
- 28:02in so much frivolity
- 28:04and silliness.
- 28:08John MacArthur wrote,
- 28:08There is a great need
- 28:09in the church today
- 28:10to cry instead of laugh.
- 28:12The frivolity,
- 28:13silliness,
- 28:14and foolishness
- 28:15that go in the name
- 28:16of Christianity
- 28:16should themselves
- 28:18make us mourn.
- 28:20God's counsel
- 28:21to the frivolous happy,
- 28:23the self-satisfied happy,
- 28:25the indulgent happy is,
- 28:27this is from James 4,
- 28:29verse 8 and following.
- 28:30Draw near to God
- 28:32and he will draw near to you.
- 28:35Cleanse your hands,
- 28:36you sinners,
- 28:36and purify your hearts,
- 28:38you double-minded.
- 28:40Be wretched or miserable
- 28:42and mourn and weep.
- 28:45Let your laughter
- 28:46be turned to mourning
- 28:47and your joy to gloom.
- 28:49Humble yourselves
- 28:50before the Lord
- 28:50and he will exalt you.
- 28:53This is what it means
- 28:56to mourn.
- 28:57This is what Jesus
- 28:58is here talking about.
- 29:02And he calls
- 29:04these mourners
- 29:06blessed.
- 29:08Blessed are those
- 29:10who mourn
- 29:11for they shall be
- 29:12comforted.
- 29:15Why are mourners
- 29:17blessed?
- 29:18Because.
- 29:20You can replace
- 29:21the word because
- 29:22in the place of four
- 29:23in the text.
- 29:24Because they will be
- 29:26comforted.
- 29:29This promise refers
- 29:30to both present
- 29:32and future comfort.
- 29:35So it is a long view,
- 29:38end of all things,
- 29:39comfort,
- 29:39to be sure,
- 29:40but it also refers
- 29:41to comfort now.
- 29:44Turn with me
- 29:45to 2 Thessalonians 2
- 29:46and let me show you this.
- 29:52Paul writes here
- 29:55a bit of a benediction
- 29:56at the end of the chapter,
- 29:58verses 16 and 17.
- 30:00He says,
- 30:00Now may our Lord,
- 30:01Jesus Christ himself,
- 30:03and God our Father
- 30:04who loved us
- 30:05and gave us
- 30:07eternal comfort
- 30:08and good hope
- 30:10through gates,
- 30:11comfort your hearts
- 30:12and establish them
- 30:13in every work
- 30:15and word.
- 30:17So we see verse 16.
- 30:18Jesus Christ himself,
- 30:20God our Father,
- 30:21loved us
- 30:22and gave us
- 30:23eternal comfort,
- 30:25long view,
- 30:27final comfort.
- 30:29And then Paul prays,
- 30:31verse 17,
- 30:32that he would also
- 30:33comfort their hearts
- 30:34now,
- 30:37future and present
- 30:39comfort.
- 30:40And we see that God
- 30:42is the source
- 30:42of all present
- 30:43and future comfort.
- 30:46Paul states elsewhere,
- 30:472 Corinthians 1,
- 30:48verse 3,
- 30:49Blessed be the God
- 30:50and Father of our Lord,
- 30:51Jesus Christ,
- 30:52the Father of mercies
- 30:53and God of all comfort.
- 30:58And he has promised
- 30:59everlasting comfort
- 31:00at the setting
- 31:01of all things
- 31:02right side up.
- 31:05John writes in Revelation
- 31:06chapter 21,
- 31:08and verse 4,
- 31:09He will wipe away
- 31:10every tear from their eyes
- 31:12and death
- 31:13shall be no more.
- 31:14Neither shall there
- 31:15be mourning
- 31:16nor crying
- 31:17nor pain
- 31:19anymore
- 31:19for the former
- 31:21things
- 31:21have passed
- 31:23away.
- 31:25And so Jesus says,
- 31:27Blessed
- 31:28are those who mourn
- 31:30!
- 31:31For they shall be
- 31:32comforted.
- 31:33Now I said to you
- 31:34at the very beginning
- 31:35of this sermon
- 31:36that the word blessed
- 31:38is a complex word.
- 31:39And we've said flourishing,
- 31:40but it also
- 31:41can mean
- 31:42happy or
- 31:43joyful.
- 31:44So if we
- 31:45insert the English word there,
- 31:47joyful are those
- 31:48who mourn.
- 31:50It can be a bit
- 31:51of a head-scratcher.
- 31:53Christians, beloved,
- 31:55ought to be
- 31:55altogether
- 31:56at the same time
- 31:58the most sad
- 32:00and the most happy
- 32:01people
- 32:01on earth
- 32:03because of these
- 32:04promises
- 32:05to us.
- 32:062 Thessalonians 2,
- 32:072 Corinthians 1-3,
- 32:10Revelation 21-4,
- 32:12Matthew 5,
- 32:13and verse 4,
- 32:15Isaiah chapter 61.
- 32:18Because of the
- 32:19sure promises
- 32:20that we have
- 32:21in Christ.
- 32:24Mourning over
- 32:24the sin of this world
- 32:25and even our own sin,
- 32:26but yet having been
- 32:27delivered
- 32:28from the bondage
- 32:29of it.
- 32:31Sorrow
- 32:31mixed
- 32:32with joy.
- 32:35Grieved
- 32:35over the things
- 32:36we see happening
- 32:36in the world,
- 32:37but knowing
- 32:37that one day
- 32:38God will set it
- 32:39all straight.
- 32:41Sorrow
- 32:41mixed
- 32:42with joy.
- 32:44Sad
- 32:45that we see
- 32:45so much
- 32:47vileness
- 32:49poured out,
- 32:50but knowing
- 32:50that one day
- 32:51God will judge
- 32:52both the living
- 32:53and the dead.
- 32:54Sorrow
- 32:54mixed
- 32:56with joy.
- 32:58The Christian
- 32:59is an
- 32:59odd
- 33:00person.
- 33:01being altogether
- 33:04sad
- 33:05and altogether
- 33:07happy
- 33:08at the same
- 33:09time.
- 33:12I want to
- 33:13close by
- 33:14reading the
- 33:15lyrics to you
- 33:16from a song
- 33:18we sing
- 33:18fairly often.
- 33:19I think we're
- 33:19singing it this
- 33:20morning,
- 33:20called
- 33:22On Jordan's
- 33:22Stormy Banks.
- 33:25The author
- 33:25of this
- 33:26song
- 33:26uses
- 33:27metaphorically
- 33:28Israel's
- 33:29crossing into
- 33:29the promised
- 33:30land to speak
- 33:30of our
- 33:31present
- 33:31morning
- 33:32in this
- 33:33world
- 33:33and a
- 33:34longing
- 33:34for the
- 33:35kingdom
- 33:36to come.
- 33:39On Jordan's
- 33:40stormy banks
- 33:41I stand
- 33:42and cast
- 33:43a wishful
- 33:44eye
- 33:44to
- 33:45Canaan's
- 33:46fair
- 33:46and happy
- 33:47land
- 33:48where my
- 33:49possessions
- 33:49lie.
- 33:51All
- 33:51o'er
- 33:51those
- 33:52wide
- 33:52extended
- 33:53plains
- 33:53shines
- 33:54one
- 33:54eternal
- 33:55day.
- 33:56Their
- 33:56God
- 33:57the sun
- 33:58forever
- 33:58reigns
- 33:59and
- 33:59scatters
- 34:00night
- 34:00away.
- 34:02No
- 34:02chilling
- 34:03winds
- 34:03nor
- 34:03poisonous
- 34:04breath
- 34:04can reach
- 34:05that
- 34:05healthful
- 34:06shore.
- 34:07Sickness,
- 34:08sorrow,
- 34:09pain,
- 34:09and death
- 34:10are felt
- 34:11and feared
- 34:12no more.
- 34:14When shall
- 34:15I reach
- 34:15that happy
- 34:16place
- 34:16and be
- 34:17forever
- 34:17blessed?
- 34:19When shall
- 34:20I see
- 34:20my father's
- 34:21faith
- 34:22and in
- 34:22his bosom
- 34:24rest?
- 34:25I hope
- 34:26that you
- 34:26can
- 34:26rejoice
- 34:27with me
- 34:28in singing
- 34:28the chorus
- 34:29of this
- 34:29song
- 34:30I am
- 34:30bound
- 34:31I am
- 34:32bound
- 34:33I am
- 34:34bound
- 34:34for the
- 34:35promised
- 34:35land.
- 34:38Jesus
- 34:38wants you
- 34:38to rejoice
- 34:39with us.
- 34:41He lived
- 34:42a perfect
- 34:42life that
- 34:43by faith
- 34:43you may
- 34:44be found
- 34:44righteous
- 34:45in him.
- 34:46He died
- 34:47a sinner's
- 34:48death
- 34:48your death
- 34:50that by
- 34:51faith the
- 34:51dead of
- 34:52your sin
- 34:52would be
- 34:53forgiven.
- 34:54He is
- 34:55now seated
- 34:55at the
- 34:56right hand
- 34:56of the
- 34:56father
- 34:56and has
- 34:56given to
- 34:57us the
- 34:58comforter
- 34:58great spirit
- 34:59that we
- 35:00have that
- 35:01by faith
- 35:02our hearts
- 35:02would be
- 35:03comforted
- 35:04and one
- 35:06day he
- 35:07will return
- 35:08and make
- 35:08all things
- 35:10new so
- 35:10that all
- 35:10of us
- 35:11who believe
- 35:11in him
- 35:12will live
- 35:12with him
- 35:13and be
- 35:14comforted
- 35:14by him
- 35:15forever.
- 35:18Blessed
- 35:18are those
- 35:19who mourn
- 35:20for they
- 35:21shall be
- 35:23comforted.
- 35:24Please join
- 35:24me in
- 35:25prayer.