I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5
-- this morning, we are going to be continuing in our
sermon series on the Beatitudes that I have titled, “The Measure of a
Christian” -- as we said last time, the Beatitudes are a list of eight things that
Jesus gave us in this passage in Matthew that we consider the measure of a
Christian -- the character standards that all Christians should be striving for
and that mark our progress and growth in the Kingdom of God
-- I’m going to go ahead and read the entire passage from
verses 1 through 12 so that we have the verses in context, but our focus this
morning is on the second Beatitude that we find in verse 4 -- “Blessed
are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
-- so, if you would, follow along as I read Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up
on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to
teach them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute
you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and
be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.
-- every so often I have to travel with my job -- if I’m
given an option, I usually like to drive wherever I’m going, so I’ve got my
vehicle with me and I can go and do whatever I want to do and leave whenever I
choose -- but, unfortunately, you just can’t drive all over the country in a
reasonable time, so I have to fly from time to time, which is something I
really don’t like to do
-- I’m not necessarily scared of flying, but I don’t
really like it a lot -- I know a lot of people say, “Faith over fear,” and I
understand that -- but I also know that Jesus said, “Lo, I will be with you
always” -- He didn’t say “High, I will be with you always,” so I always feel
safer on the ground -- other people say, “Well, if it’s your time, there’s
nothing you can do about it” -- and, I know that, too -- but I get worried that
it might be the guy up there in Row 15F whose time it is and I just happen to
be on the plane with him when God decides to take him
-- so, when I do fly, I get a little nervous -- a little
anxious -- and you can tell a big difference between someone like me and the
people that fly all the time and are used to it -- for instance, when the
flight attendants come out and start giving their safety presentation as the
plane is taxiing to the runway, I always pay attention -- the people that fly
all the time aren’t paying them any attention at all, but I’m sitting there
listening to every word and taking notes and getting ready because I want to
know what I should do in case of an emergency
-- if you’ve flown, you’ve heard these safety messages
before -- the attendant tells you how to buckle your seatbelt -- how to find
the exits -- and how to use your seat cushion as a flotation device -- and then
they always end with this one safety instruction that always seems to me to be
the most important
-- they point to a compartment over your head and say,
"If the cabin loses air pressure, an oxygen mask will drop from the
compartment over your head -- if you are seated next to a child or someone who
is having trouble putting on their mask, put yours on first, and then help them
put on their mask”
-- in my mind, this just goes against all common sense
and wisdom -- if you’re like most people in an emergency situation where there
are children present, your first thought is going to be to take care of the
children first -- isn’t that the way we’ve always been taught? -- to take care
of the most vulnerable first?
-- think about the Titanic and when it started to sink --
what was it they said about the life rafts -- let the women and children go
first -- take care of those who are most vulnerable first before you take care
of yourself -- it’s what we’re taught to do
-- so, the instructions of the flight attendant seem to
go against the norm -- they tell you to take care of yourself first, and then
help someone else -- this isn’t the way we would normally do things -- this
isn’t what common sense would dictate -- our first instinct is to protect the
weak and the young and the vulnerable -- of course, with the pandemic and the
way some people have reacted, I have to wonder how many people think this way
any more
-- but this instruction to go against your instincts and
to take care of yourself of first in an aircraft emergency makes sense if you
sit down and think about it -- hypoxia -- the lack of oxygen -- can affect your
ability to react and to think -- and that’s the last thing you want going on in
an emergency situation -- if you’re going to help someone else -- if you’re
truly going to help the vulnerable and those around you that need help -- you
need to be thinking and reacting normally and not impaired by a lack of oxygen--
so, the attendant tells us to put our own masks on first so that we will not be
impaired and so that we can help those around us better
II. Blessed are those who mourn
-- that’s the same reasoning that Jesus uses here in this
second Beatitude -- you can’t help someone else with their sin, until you first
face your own sins -- when it comes to sin, you have to take care of yourself
before you can begin to take care of others -- and we do this through holy
mourning
-- let’s look Beatitude a little closer and I’ll show you
what I mean
-- here in verse 4, Jesus says, “Blessed are those
who mourn”
-- there’s that word again that we find in all the
Beatitudes -- “blessed” -- if you remember, we said that to be blessed was to
be favored by God -- to be experiencing His presence and His power and His
grace in our lives
-- when we use the word, “blessed,” we are saying that we
have had a supernatural, spiritual encounter with the living God -- God has
reached down and touched our life in a real and personal way through His
presence and His grace -- the Gaithers summed it up quite well what this looks
like in their classic hymn when they simply sang, “He touched me”
-- and, as we can see from the context of this verse, to
be blessed doesn’t mean that the things around us are necessarily going good --
it doesn’t mean that our finances and our homes and our relationships are all
perfect -- it doesn’t mean that we’re not suffering or walking in trials and
tribulations -- in this verse, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,”
-- and mourning usually doesn’t indicate something good has happened but that
we are walking through something that has profoundly impacted our lives in a
negative way
-- when Jesus tells us in this context that we are
blessed, it means that even in the midst of our situation -- no matter how bad
it is -- God is with us and He has touched our lives and we can rest in His
sustaining presence no matter what it is that we are going through -- that’s
what it means to be blessed -- it means He has touched us and we are in the
palm of His hand
-- listen to this Beatitude again -- “Blessed are
those who mourn” -- think for a moment about what causes you to mourn
-- we mourn when we have lost someone or something in our lives -- we mourn
when someone we love has passed away -- we mourn because there has been a death
-- we hear this verse recited a lot at funerals, because
of the promise from Christ in the second part of this Beatitude that those who
mourn will be comforted -- and while this is true, this is not the type of
mourning that Jesus has in mind here
-- remember the context of the Beatitudes -- Jesus is
teaching about spiritual things -- He is speaking about spiritual character and
spiritual growth -- not about being comforted because of a worldly loss
-- so, think about this Beatitude from that perspective
-- what is it that causes us to mourn spiritually? -- what death or what loss
are we grieved about?
-- we mourn because we have become aware of the spiritual
death that follows a sinful life -- we mourn for our sins -- we grieve for what
we have done to God -- as David says in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only,
have I sinned,” as he points out that all our sins are sins against God
-- there’s a song by the contemporary Christian group,
Sidewalk Prophets, called, “You Love Me Anyway,” which talks about this very
thing -- which points out that all of us have sinned against God and wounded
Him with our actions
-- the chorus of the song says, “I am the thorn in your
crown -- I am the sweat from your brow -- I am the nail in your wrist -- I am
Judas’ kiss -- but You love me anyway
-- “I am the man who yelled out from the crowd, for your
blood to be spilled on this earth-shaking ground -- then I turned away with a
smile on my face -- with this sin in my heart I tried to bury your grace -- and
then alone in the night, I still call out for You -- so ashamed of my life…but
you love me anyway”
-- when Jesus speaks of the mourners in this passage, He
is referring to those who have become aware of the depth of their own sin --
who know that their sin is not just a passing thing -- just something lightly
done with no true consequence -- He’s talking about those who realize that
their sins were against the very throne of heaven and cast darkness against the
light and purity and holiness of God
-- this Beatitude is for Christians -- for people who
have already taken their first step towards spiritual holiness by accepting the
first Beatitude -- who have come to Jesus poor in spirit, recognizing their
need for a Savior, and receiving salvation at the cross
-- this second Beatitude speaks of a deepening
realization of just what Christ has done -- of just what Christ has suffered on
the cross for us
-- as we come face-to-face with the true reality and
impact of our sin to God -- as we realize the price that Jesus paid to forgive
us -- we begin to mourn and grieve for our part of the cross -- for the thorns
in the crown -- for the sweat from His brow -- for the nails in His wrist --
for the blood that He shed for us
-- it is at this point that true repentance begins -- it
is relatively easy to come to Christ at first -- to believe that He died on the
cross for our sins and rose again on the third day -- to put our faith and
trust in His atonement for our sins
-- but it is another step altogether to truly understand
what that means -- this is what the second Beatitude is all about -- truly
acknowledging and repenting of our sins so that we might walk with Christ in
holiness and righteousness
-- this is what Jesus means when He says elsewhere in the
Bible that we have to pick up our cross and follow Him -- we have to
acknowledge our sins and put them to death through repentance so that we might
rise with Christ to new life
III. For they shall be comforted
-- this leads us to the second part of this Beatitude --
to the promise of Christ for those who mourn
-- Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn,
because they will be comforted”
-- one thing that I learned early on in ministry is the
value of a comforting spirit -- there were many times when I sat with a friend
at the hospital as someone they loved passed away -- and there were no words
that could be said -- there was nothing I could do but sit there and hold them
and be with them -- but I found out, that was enough -- that was what was
needed
-- when Jesus tells us here that those who mourn will be
comforted, this is a promise of presence -- this is a promise that He will be
there to sit with us and to hold us and to be with us as we grieve over what we
have done and as we mourn the depths of our sin
-- the presence of Jesus is the promise of a new day --
it is like the sun breaking over the horizon after a really bad storm has
passed -- it is like a light shining in the darkness when you are lost and all
hope is gone
-- Jesus says that after we mourn, He will comfort us --
there are three ways that the comfort of God comes to us in the midst of our
grief over sin
-- first, we are comforted through His word -- through
the Scriptures -- as we read of the promises that He has given us -- we stand
on these promises -- we believe in what He has said -- and we know that they
will all come to pass
-- Jesus promised us forgiveness from our sins -- He
promised us eternal life with Him -- He promised to never leave us or forsake
us -- He promised to always be with us and that He would make a place for us
-- when we are gripped in the depths of mourning over our
sins, these promises are the light that lead us forth into new life with Him
-- secondly, we are comforted through His church -- through
the presence of other believers
-- I had a conversation this week with someone about the
church and what the church really was -- the church is not a building -- it’s
not a denomination -- it’s not a name on a sign
-- the church is a community of faith -- a group of
believers who come together in grief and in mourning over sin and in
celebration of the risen Christ -- believers who come together to form a family
of faith for the express purpose of lifting each other up -- of being there
with them -- of holding each other accountable and helping them turn away from
sin -- and who encourage each other to continue on in their faith
-- who better to comfort those who mourn than someone who
has already mourned -- who better to walk with down unknown paths than someone
who knows the way
-- the Bible tells us that we need each other to live out
this Christian life -- it speaks of the importance of the church -- and how, through
the church, the presence of God comforts our souls as we grow in grace and truly
mourn and repent of our sins and pick up our cross and follow Christ together
-- the third way we are comforted is through God’s very
presence -- through the Holy Spirit who lives in us and through us
-- the Bible tells us in Romans 8:26-27 that the Spirit
helps us in our weakness -- when we don’t know what to pray --
when we don’t know how to pray -- the Spirit prays for us -- He
intercedes on our behalf -- He comforts our souls and He carries our needs to
the Father
-- there is a reason that one name for the Holy Spirit is
Comforter -- just as this verse says, when we mourn, we are comforted -- when
we mourn, we are blessed by the very presence of God falling upon us and taking
away our pain and our grief so that we might rise up and carry on to new life
IV. Closing
-- holy mourning over sin is a good thing -- it may not
be pleasant -- it is not something that we like to go through -- but it is
necessary -- it is a vital part of the Christian life -- it is something that
we have to do if we are truly going to walk with Christ in this life -- if we truly
want to live holy and righteous lives in His name
-- the mourning that Jesus is talking about in this
Beatitude comes about when we honestly recognize the sin in our life and decide
to do something about it -- it leads to true repentance -- not just to the
initial stages of faith and belief at the cross -- but to a deepening faith and
love that grows from a realization of just what Christ has done for us and what
the Holy Spirit continues to do within us as we seek to walk with Jesus daily
-- mourning and repentance proceeds to comfort as we
begin to experience the new life that Jesus promised -- a life characterized by
holiness and obedience to God’s word instead of a life bound up by sin or the consequences
of sin
-- I want to close by sharing with you a story I once
read about Robert Murray McCheyne, a pastor in Dundee, Scotland -- even though
he died at the young age of 30, his life and his ministry had a profound impact
on the people in that community -- many, many people had come to Christ because
of his influence -- many, many people had changed their lives because of his
presence in their pulpit
-- the impact that McCheyne had did not go unnoticed
outside of Dundee -- one day, a young pastor who had just graduated from
seminary and who was beginning his first pastorate visited McCheyne’s former
church to see what he could learn about ministry from those McCheyne had
touched
-- he went to the old sexton of McCheyne’s church and
asked him what McCheyne’s secret was -- the sexton led the pastor into
McCheyne’s study and showed him a table with some of McCheyne’s books on it sitting
next to a chair -- he told him, "Sit down and put your elbows on the
table." The visitor obeyed. "Now put your head in your hands."
He complied. "Now let the tears flow; that's what McCheyne did."
-- Next he led the pastor into the church and said,
"Put your elbows on the pulpit." The visitor did. "Now put your
face in your hands." He obeyed. "Now let the tears flow; that's what
McCheyne used to do."
-- the sexton’s point was clear -- Robert Murray McCheyne
cried freely over his sins and over those of his people -- and his holy
mourning led to repentance and to transformed lives and the comfort of Christ
-- we need to be more sensitive to the convicting voice
of God's Spirit and more determined to live a separated and holy life.
-- We may rejoice in God's forgiveness, but we should
never be afraid to mourn for our sins, because Jesus tells us that those who
mourn will be comforted and blessed1
-- as we close in prayer now, let me remind you of one of
the wonderful promises that we find in God’s word -- in 1 John 1:8-9 we read,
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in
us. -- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify [or cleanse] us from all unrighteousness.”
-- as we close this morning, let us confess and mourn
over our sins in prayer -- let us pray that we might be comforted and that we
might be purified from all unrighteousness and that we might leave here
transformed by the very presence of God as He touches us and touches our hearts
-- let us pray
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1 Modified from D. C.
Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries,
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