100:00:01,000 –> 00:00:10,000Spiritual mourning comes from the heart.200:00:10,240 –> 00:00:18,219And that’s why it really is key to tackling what we sometimes call these habitual sins.300:00:18,280 –> 00:00:22,840This is how change moves forward in a Christian life. It’s never one step in the process.400:00:23,000 –> 00:00:25,360But you never move forward without this. You can’t.500:00:26,340 –> 00:00:27,340You can’t.600:00:27,360 –> 00:00:30,340Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pink.700:00:30,340 –> 00:00:32,340Glad you could join us today.800:00:32,340 –> 00:00:37,340And Colin, I’m sure in your long pastoral ministry you’ve had people say to you many times900:00:37,340 –> 00:00:41,340that they just can’t conquer one particular sin or other.1000:00:41,340 –> 00:00:46,820But you’re saying here that mourning in the biblical sense can help them to move forward.1100:00:46,820 –> 00:00:51,840Yeah, the Power of the Holy Spirit is given to us so we can actually grow in the Christian life.1200:00:52,700 –> 00:00:57,900And whenever a believer comes to the place of saying, I just can’t overcome this sin,1300:00:57,900 –> 00:01:03,619that’s unbelief that is speaking at that point, that is not faith that is making that statement.1400:01:03,619 –> 00:01:08,860You know, there’s all the difference in the world between saying, I’m sorry to God1500:01:08,860 –> 00:01:11,660after I do something that I’ve done many times before,1600:01:11,660 –> 00:01:18,620you know, short temper or a critical spirit or whatever is the thing that one tends to fall into repeatedly.1700:01:18,620 –> 00:01:22,519This all the difference in the world between saying, Oh, I’m sorry, Lord, I did it again,1800:01:22,519 –> 00:01:29,019And really coming to what Jesus speaks about here, which is blessed are those who mourn1900:01:29,019 –> 00:01:36,260over their own sins, to look at it to the point where I loathe it and therefore turn from it.2000:01:36,260 –> 00:01:41,599Now, in as much as we can learn to do that in relation to what we call habitual sins,2100:01:41,599 –> 00:01:45,220we’re going to see some real progress and some real change.2200:01:45,379 –> 00:01:48,680So we’re talking about something of huge importance in the program today.2300:01:48,760 –> 00:01:54,720So, join us if you can in Matthew chapter 5, as we continue the message blessed are2400:01:54,720 –> 00:01:56,239those who mourn.2500:01:56,239 –> 00:01:57,820Here is Pastor Colin.2600:01:57,820 –> 00:02:01,220Here’s God’s foundation and it bears this seal, and it’s in two parts.2700:02:01,220 –> 00:02:02,220Here’s number one.2800:02:02,220 –> 00:02:06,360The Lord knows who are his.2900:02:06,360 –> 00:02:09,000And secondly, how do we know who are his?3000:02:09,000 –> 00:02:11,559Well, here’s the mark of a person who is his.3100:02:11,580 –> 00:02:17,039And let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.3200:02:17,039 –> 00:02:19,179Depart from iniquity.3300:02:19,179 –> 00:02:24,380In other words, what is being said here is this is absolutely foundational to what it3400:02:24,380 –> 00:02:26,020means to be a Christian.3500:02:26,020 –> 00:02:30,740If you are going to name the name of the Lord, here’s what it means for you.3600:02:30,740 –> 00:02:34,240You’ve got to depart from iniquity.3700:02:34,240 –> 00:02:37,300Simply admit that you’re a sinner, not simply say a prayer.3800:02:37,300 –> 00:02:42,539If there is to be the bond of a living union between you and Jesus Christ, then the faith3900:02:42,539 –> 00:02:50,800that will be the bond of that living union will also be the wellspring of repentance.4000:02:50,800 –> 00:02:57,179It begins from day one.4100:02:57,179 –> 00:03:01,899So the call of God to repentance that involves a change of direction being replaced by simply4200:03:01,899 –> 00:03:05,539admitting that you’re a sinner and asking Jesus to forgive you?4300:03:05,679 –> 00:03:09,419Can you see how huge a shift that is?4400:03:09,419 –> 00:03:19,440And having heard much growing up of that kind of emaciated form of faith that poses under4500:03:19,440 –> 00:03:26,619the banner of Christianity, I remember when I was seventeen years old is when this truth4600:03:26,619 –> 00:03:28,100really first came home to me.4700:03:28,100 –> 00:03:31,520I was seventeen, some of you are a bit younger.4800:03:31,660 –> 00:03:38,220I went to a convention in England, a big conference, and heard Dr. Alan Redpath, who one time was4900:03:38,220 –> 00:03:41,759the pastor of Moody Church.5000:03:41,759 –> 00:03:45,860He’s a senior, senior preacher in his last years.5100:03:45,860 –> 00:03:52,399I’ll never forget before seventeen years old I was of hearing him say,5200:03:52,800 –> 00:03:59,800God has not promised to forgive one sin that you are not willing to forsake.5300:04:03,520 –> 00:04:08,339And for a boy who knew too much about cheap grace that went right in.5400:04:08,339 –> 00:04:15,339How dare I, 17-year-old Colin, come before God and say I admit I’m a sinner, and please5500:04:16,059 –> 00:04:23,059forgive me while I have every intention of carrying on doing the same thing.5600:04:26,019 –> 00:04:33,019God has not promised to forgive one sin that you are not willing to forsake.5700:04:33,019 –> 00:04:47,779And if a generation grows up with the kind of belief because of an emaciated presentation5800:04:47,779 –> 00:04:51,260of the gospel that all you really need to do is admit you’re a sinner and that there5900:04:51,260 –> 00:04:55,420shouldn’t be any great expectation of change, then what’s going to happen?6000:04:55,420 –> 00:05:00,440You’re going to have a generation growing up in church world that thinks the gospel6100:05:01,279 –> 00:05:04,739everything being written off as far as my sins are concerned and going to heaven for6200:05:04,739 –> 00:05:10,739the future and basically continuing to pursue the American dream as an unchanged person6300:05:10,739 –> 00:05:13,799with faith added.’6400:05:13,799 –> 00:05:18,880A.W. Tozer saw this coming.6500:05:18,880 –> 00:05:26,160Writing in this city of Chicago more than half a century ago, 1948, this is what A.6600:05:26,299 –> 00:05:27,720W. Tozer said.6700:05:27,720 –> 00:05:30,040He saw the change coming.6800:05:30,040 –> 00:05:36,760He saw how a new form of faith that is not biblical faith was substituting the reality6900:05:36,760 –> 00:05:38,019of repentance and faith.7000:05:38,019 –> 00:05:39,040He said this,7100:05:39,040 –> 00:05:45,200”The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless.7200:05:45,200 –> 00:05:53,239Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the mortal life without embarrassment to7300:05:53,359 –> 00:05:54,019the Adamic ego.”7400:05:54,019 –> 00:05:59,299In other words, never really coming to know my own poverty before God.7500:05:59,299 –> 00:06:02,239He said describing what he was seeing in 1948,7600:06:02,239 –> 00:06:07,739”Christ may now be quote received without creating any special love for him in the soul7700:06:07,739 –> 00:06:14,640of the receiver that man thinks himself, quote saved, but he is not hungry or thirsty after7800:06:14,640 –> 00:06:17,200God.”7900:06:17,200 –> 00:06:22,839So folks, we are surrounded by a form of faith that is posing under the banner of Christianity8000:06:22,839 –> 00:06:30,799of faith that has been redefined to accommodate our own intransigence and a repentance that8100:06:30,799 –> 00:06:38,399has been repackaged, reshaped to fit our own continuing indulgence.8200:06:38,399 –> 00:06:44,500And the result is a growing mass of people who admit that they are sinners and quote8300:06:44,500 –> 00:06:48,920accept Jesus and yet have not really experienced the life that is in Christ.8400:06:48,920 –> 00:06:50,839And what is the evidence of that?8500:06:50,839 –> 00:06:55,720The evidence is that they do not feel poor in spirit.8600:06:55,720 –> 00:07:02,040And they do not really know what it is to mourn over their own sins.8700:07:02,040 –> 00:07:09,019And there really isn’t a hunger and a thirst after righteousness or a submissiveness to8800:07:09,019 –> 00:07:11,160the will of God when it’s hard.8900:07:11,160 –> 00:07:18,880They are not merciful and there’s not much purity of heart either.9000:07:18,880 –> 00:07:26,260And most of all, there’s a missing out on the sheer joy of all that’s in Christ, the9100:07:26,260 –> 00:07:28,179blessing of all that’s in Christ.9200:07:28,179 –> 00:07:33,119They hear folks who are real Christian speak about the joy that they found in the Lord.9300:07:33,119 –> 00:07:36,399And they don’t really know what that is.9400:07:36,399 –> 00:07:43,079So, I’m saying to you that this beatitude, this second one that we’re focusing on today9500:07:43,399 –> 00:07:52,399and then looking at how to pursue it next week, it’s of huge importance to the whole9600:07:52,399 –> 00:07:56,279church of Jesus Christ today.9700:07:56,279 –> 00:08:01,239What do we know about spiritual mourning?9800:08:01,239 –> 00:08:09,799The kind of sorrow over my own sins that takes them so seriously that I am not in the pattern9900:08:10,040 –> 00:08:16,859of cyclical repetition of the same old thing again and again.10000:08:16,859 –> 00:08:18,040Why does that happen?10100:08:18,040 –> 00:08:23,100Because it’s too easy to just say sorry Lord, thank you that you never forgave me and I’ll10200:08:23,100 –> 00:08:27,079be back next time.10300:08:27,079 –> 00:08:28,079Spiritual Mourning.10400:08:28,079 –> 00:08:33,239You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Blessed are10500:08:33,239 –> 00:08:35,099those who Mourn.10600:08:35,099 –> 00:08:38,859We have to pause the message briefly here, but we’ll be back very shortly, so please10700:08:38,859 –> 00:08:40,219stay with us.10800:08:40,219 –> 00:08:44,760If you have tuned in late or have to leave early or if you ever miss one of our programmes10900:08:44,760 –> 00:08:48,679you can easily catch up or go back and listen again by coming online to our website openthatbible.org.uk.11000:08:48,679 –> 00:08:56,340There you’ll find all the messages which have already been broadcast.11100:08:56,340 –> 00:09:01,479Back to the message now we’re in Matthew chapter six, here again is Pastor Colin.11200:09:01,479 –> 00:09:04,859Let me just frame out a little more for you today.11300:09:04,859 –> 00:09:07,419This is what the spiritual morning looks like.11400:09:07,419 –> 00:09:12,440It really has three distinguishing marks, and three words if you just want to write11500:09:12,440 –> 00:09:16,020them down, humility, heart and hope.11600:09:16,020 –> 00:09:22,239Spiritual morning is marked by these three things, humility, heart and hope.11700:09:22,239 –> 00:09:28,239So just to frame that out, spiritual morning first arises from humility.11800:09:28,239 –> 00:09:37,400In other words, this follows as a natural outcrop, consequence, or outflow from being11900:09:37,400 –> 00:09:38,960poor in spirit.12000:09:38,960 –> 00:09:44,320Get on the first ring we’re saying, swing on that first ring, and once you’re on that12100:09:44,320 –> 00:09:47,760first ring you will not find that you are far away from the second.12200:09:47,760 –> 00:09:50,619You will find that the second comes within your reach.12300:09:50,619 –> 00:09:56,719You begin to see I do not have what it takes before God, then you begin to mourn over the12400:09:56,799 –> 00:10:04,080sins that are yours, and you begin to mourn over the righteousness that you lack.12500:10:04,080 –> 00:10:08,520We’ve been picturing, you remember, the Beatitudes as a series of seven rings, and this is the12600:10:08,520 –> 00:10:12,859whole principle that we’re walking through in this series — that you move forward in12700:10:12,859 –> 00:10:16,960the Christian life by moving from the one to the next.12800:10:16,960 –> 00:10:18,559Friends, here’s what that means.12900:10:18,559 –> 00:10:22,080You can’t start on the second ring, you’ve got to start from the first.13000:10:22,080 –> 00:10:23,900There’s continuity here.13100:10:24,059 –> 00:10:29,679See, there is a certain pleasure in every sin, a passing pleasure, but a certain pleasure13200:10:29,679 –> 00:10:31,859in every sin.13300:10:31,859 –> 00:10:36,700Nobody would sin if there was not a certain pleasure associated with every sin, and so13400:10:36,700 –> 00:10:43,340there is an attraction for sins that we have indulged that has got us.13500:10:43,340 –> 00:10:45,440And so, that leads to this great question.13600:10:45,880 –> 00:10:54,700How can I come to hate what I used to love, to turn from what I used to choose?13700:10:54,700 –> 00:10:58,679I can’t suddenly sit there in a chair and say, I’m going to make that switch.13800:10:58,679 –> 00:11:00,020No, of course you can’t.13900:11:00,020 –> 00:11:04,440You can’t start on the second ring, you start on the first.14000:11:04,440 –> 00:11:08,820But you swing on that first string, you really take hold of your own need and your own poverty14100:11:08,820 –> 00:11:11,679before God, and you are not having what it takes.14200:11:11,679 –> 00:11:15,260And everything that we’ve been looking at, that will get you to the place where mourning14300:11:15,260 –> 00:11:17,260is beginning.14400:11:17,260 –> 00:11:22,479It arises from humility.14500:11:22,479 –> 00:11:27,520Discovering your own true position before God, get on the first string, and it will14600:11:27,520 –> 00:11:32,979not be long before the second is within your grasp.14700:11:32,979 –> 00:11:36,299Second, distinguishing characteristic.14800:11:36,299 –> 00:11:39,099Spiritual mourning is a matter of the heart.14900:11:39,580 –> 00:11:45,539Now, everyone knows there’s a huge difference between the person who says I’m sorry and15000:11:45,539 –> 00:11:51,679is merely trying to resolve a problem, and the person who says I’m sorry and really15100:11:51,679 –> 00:11:53,099is sorry from the heart.15200:11:53,099 –> 00:11:55,799We all know about that.15300:11:55,799 –> 00:12:01,380And the spiritual mourning that we’re talking about is more than saying sorry to God.15400:12:01,380 –> 00:12:04,679It is a matter of the heart.15500:12:05,320 –> 00:12:11,239The Bible tells us a story about King Saul, and he went to battle.15600:12:11,239 –> 00:12:15,340This is in 1 Samuel and chapter 15.15700:12:15,340 –> 00:12:19,359And he disobeyed the specific commands of God, and he took plunder for himself and he15800:12:19,359 –> 00:12:22,219took plunder for his men.15900:12:22,219 –> 00:12:29,200The man cheated, the man deceived, and the man stole.16000:12:29,200 –> 00:12:33,880And then he lied to cover it up.16100:12:33,880 –> 00:12:40,419But through the prophet Samuel he was found out and when he was found out, he immediately16200:12:40,419 –> 00:12:43,580said how sorry he was.16300:12:43,580 –> 00:12:48,500He comes to Samuel and he says I have sinned.16400:12:48,500 –> 00:12:53,340I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord.16500:12:53,340 –> 00:12:58,179And then he says something else that gives the game away that his being sorry really16600:12:58,179 –> 00:13:00,260doesn’t come from the heart at all.16700:13:00,260 –> 00:13:05,919He says to Samuel I’ve sinned, but please now honor me before the elders of the people,16800:13:05,919 –> 00:13:07,419you see.16900:13:07,419 –> 00:13:14,859I’m very sorry, but what I’m really focused on is damage limitation, and I want you to17000:13:14,859 –> 00:13:18,880make sure that everyone else thinks I’m a great guy.17100:13:18,880 –> 00:13:22,419And you know the rest of the story of Saul, if you don’t, it’s a disaster, that’s all17200:13:22,419 –> 00:13:24,200you need to know.17300:13:24,200 –> 00:13:28,239Because there never really was repentance from the heart in the man.17400:13:28,239 –> 00:13:31,400Just damage limitation.17500:13:31,400 –> 00:13:38,099So spiritual mourning comes from the heart.17600:13:38,099 –> 00:13:47,219And that’s why it really is key to tackling what we sometimes call these habitual sins,17700:13:47,219 –> 00:13:55,419to come to a place of saying oh God, I’ve come to see the extent of this thing.17800:13:55,659 –> 00:13:59,260I’ve come to grieve this thing.17900:13:59,260 –> 00:14:02,659And we are going to see as we move forward in the series that that is going to lead further18000:14:02,659 –> 00:14:06,559onto a third ring of submission to the will of God, and then onto a fourth ring that is18100:14:06,559 –> 00:14:10,000called hunger and thirst after righteousness.18200:14:10,000 –> 00:14:12,440This is how change moves forward in a Christian life.18300:14:12,440 –> 00:14:17,179It is never one step in the process, but you never move forward without this.18400:14:17,179 –> 00:14:20,320You can’t.18500:14:20,419 –> 00:14:28,299God promises mercy to mourners, and those who do not mourn their sin are in great danger18600:14:28,299 –> 00:14:31,020of presuming mercy.18700:14:31,020 –> 00:14:33,359They are not on the path of repentance.18800:14:33,359 –> 00:14:37,059They are on the path of presumption.18900:14:37,059 –> 00:14:38,700One quote and then we’ll move onto the next thing.19000:14:38,700 –> 00:14:40,219Alexander McLaren says this.19100:14:40,219 –> 00:14:42,599It is very powerful.19200:14:42,599 –> 00:14:46,940If you have never been down on your knees before God, feeling what a wicked man or woman19300:14:46,940 –> 00:14:49,159you are.19400:14:49,159 –> 00:14:54,000I hugely doubt whether you will ever stand with radiant faith before God and praise Him19500:14:54,000 –> 00:14:57,760through eternity for His mercy to you.19600:14:57,760 –> 00:14:59,559Why does he say that?19700:14:59,559 –> 00:15:04,700Because God promises mercy to mourners.19800:15:04,700 –> 00:15:08,599Not trite people who say, I’ve admitted that I’m a sinner.19900:15:08,599 –> 00:15:10,919You see the difference, don’t you?20000:15:10,919 –> 00:15:15,020There’s all the difference in the world.20100:15:15,119 –> 00:15:20,880Third, spiritual mourning is infused with hope.20200:15:20,880 –> 00:15:27,340Spiritual mourning is infused with hope.20300:15:27,340 –> 00:15:33,099Now, Judas grieved over his sin.20400:15:33,099 –> 00:15:43,619But Judas did not mourn spiritually for this reason, that his grief led him to despair,20500:15:43,619 –> 00:15:51,400and despair is always the work of Satan, it is never the work of the Holy Spirit.20600:15:51,400 –> 00:15:56,380Remember that whenever you become serious about the things of God, that is happening20700:15:56,380 –> 00:16:01,320because the Holy Spirit is at work in your life.20800:16:01,320 –> 00:16:06,119But as soon as the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, the enemy of your soul is going20900:16:06,119 –> 00:16:09,000to be paying attention.21000:16:09,020 –> 00:16:14,099And so, it’s very important at this point to be able to distinguish the work of Satan21100:16:14,099 –> 00:16:16,039from the work of the Holy Spirit.21200:16:16,039 –> 00:16:18,400Very important to be able to make that distinction.21300:16:18,400 –> 00:16:20,799Here’s one way that you make it.21400:16:20,799 –> 00:16:26,000Satan will lead you to despair of yourself, but he will never lead you to hope in Jesus21500:16:26,000 –> 00:16:27,000Christ.21600:16:27,000 –> 00:16:31,960So, he’ll just leave you in despair, he’ll just leave you consumed with mourning, he’ll21700:16:31,960 –> 00:16:36,080never let you get to the place that says, for they shall be comforted, that’ why they’re21800:16:36,080 –> 00:16:38,099blessed.21900:16:38,099 –> 00:16:42,400The Holy Spirit will bring you to an end of yourself, the Holy Spirit will bring tears22000:16:42,400 –> 00:16:49,159to your eyes perhaps over seeing the extent of your sin and what you’ve done to others22100:16:49,159 –> 00:16:53,479and what the offense of this really looks like to God, and how long this pattern has22200:16:53,479 –> 00:16:54,739actually been there.22300:16:54,739 –> 00:16:58,780And you begin to see the extent of it.22400:16:58,780 –> 00:17:04,520And you begin to say with Paul, Oh wretched man that I am!22500:17:04,560 –> 00:17:09,640But the work of the Holy Spirit friend will never, never, never leave you there.22600:17:09,640 –> 00:17:14,540Judas mourning is not spiritual mourning, it’s him being consumed with the devil, that’s22700:17:14,540 –> 00:17:18,619why he goes and he takes his life.22800:17:18,619 –> 00:17:20,060Despair.22900:17:20,060 –> 00:17:24,459The Holy Spirit will never leave you in despair.23000:17:24,459 –> 00:17:26,560True repentance leads to life.23100:17:26,560 –> 00:17:27,680That’s why it’s blessed.23200:17:27,680 –> 00:17:32,380This is why there is comfort that is in it.23300:17:32,380 –> 00:17:35,439Thomas Watts, and I just love picking up his pithy little phrases.23400:17:35,439 –> 00:17:36,699And here’s another one.23500:17:36,699 –> 00:17:42,300He says gospel tears drop from the eye of faith.23600:17:42,300 –> 00:17:46,180You see what he’s saying?23700:17:46,180 –> 00:17:50,359There’s a way of weeping over sin, and I don’t want to get hung up on whether there23800:17:50,359 –> 00:17:54,439are physical tears or not, we’re talking about the heart.23900:17:54,439 –> 00:17:58,380But what he’s saying, and you understand what he’s saying is that there can be tears that24000:17:58,380 –> 00:18:08,040are simply self-deprecation, but gospel tears fall from the eye of faith.24100:18:08,040 –> 00:18:10,180They have an eye on the cross.24200:18:10,180 –> 00:18:15,140They see the extent of my sinfulness in the light of the price that Jesus Christ paid24300:18:15,140 –> 00:18:19,839for it on the cross, and that’s where there’s hope.24400:18:19,839 –> 00:18:26,520Hope, friend, is the signature mark of spiritual mourning.24500:18:26,859 –> 00:18:29,540It’s not spiritual mourning if there isn’t hope there.24600:18:29,540 –> 00:18:34,160So when Jesus is talking about the blessing, the joy, the comfort that comes to those who24700:18:34,160 –> 00:18:39,959really mourn their own sins, He is pointing us to this a spiritual mourning that is marked24800:18:39,959 –> 00:18:47,599by humility that comes from the heart and is absolutely infused with hope that streams24900:18:47,599 –> 00:18:54,300from Christ crucified, the man of sorrows who is the friend of sinners.25000:18:54,300 –> 00:19:00,439And that is why authentic Christian experience is always a two-sided coin.25100:19:00,439 –> 00:19:03,859It is always a two-sided coin.25200:19:03,859 –> 00:19:05,420Paul puts it this way and you find that.25300:19:05,420 –> 00:19:07,939Once you see this in the Bible, you start seeing it everywhere.25400:19:07,939 –> 00:19:13,060Paul says in second Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 10, we are sorrowful yet always25500:19:13,060 –> 00:19:14,060rejoicing.25600:19:14,060 –> 00:19:17,239Isn’t that a striking phrase?25700:19:17,239 –> 00:19:18,859Sorrowful yet always rejoicing.25800:19:18,859 –> 00:19:19,859Why?25900:19:19,859 –> 00:19:20,859Because we see our own need.26000:19:20,859 –> 00:19:21,939We mourn our own sins.26100:19:22,079 –> 00:19:26,859We never outgrow that, just like we never get to a place where we are sinlessly perfect.26200:19:26,859 –> 00:19:31,500We are always seeing how we need to grow further and always seeking the grace of God to move26300:19:31,500 –> 00:19:33,000forward.26400:19:33,000 –> 00:19:35,900Sorrowful yet always rejoicing.26500:19:35,900 –> 00:19:36,900Why?26600:19:36,900 –> 00:19:39,900Because the kind of spiritual mourning we are talking about does not leave us in the26700:19:39,900 –> 00:19:45,099place of despair, it brings us to the cross and to the place of hope and to Jesus Christ.26800:19:45,099 –> 00:19:49,880So the two sides to the coin of genuine Christian experience.26900:19:49,880 –> 00:19:50,900Always keep these two together.27000:19:51,040 –> 00:19:52,040It is so important.27100:19:52,040 –> 00:19:53,359You remind yourself of this.27200:19:53,359 –> 00:19:57,719The true Christian says who is sufficient for these things?27300:19:57,719 –> 00:19:59,520You come to the place.27400:19:59,520 –> 00:20:03,640You say, how am I going to get through this next week?27500:20:03,640 –> 00:20:07,160You feel your need.27600:20:07,160 –> 00:20:12,619But the work of the Holy Spirit will never leave you there.27700:20:12,619 –> 00:20:19,359Biblical experience is infused with hope and therefore the person who says who is sufficient27800:20:19,359 –> 00:20:26,359for these things also goes on to say with Paul our sufficiency is of God.27900:20:26,359 –> 00:20:31,780Spiritual mourning will lead you to the place of saying oh wretched man that I am.28000:20:31,780 –> 00:20:33,579But because it is infused with hope.28100:20:33,579 –> 00:20:35,560The Holy Spirit will not leave you there.28200:20:35,560 –> 00:20:37,280The other side of the coin is this.28300:20:37,280 –> 00:20:38,280What?28400:20:38,280 –> 00:20:44,040Thanks be to God who gives me the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.28500:20:44,040 –> 00:20:47,760Spiritual mourning may lead you to the place of identifying with Apostle Paul when he says28600:20:47,979 –> 00:20:54,339I am the chief of sinners and you’ll say I am there and I see in myself what I’ve come28700:20:54,339 –> 00:20:59,119to loathe and mourn and grieve, but the Holy Spirit if it’s Spiritual mourning will never28800:20:59,119 –> 00:21:03,579leave you there, as well as saying I am the chief of sinners.28900:21:03,579 –> 00:21:08,640He will also lead you through the hope of the gospel to say but by the grace of God29000:21:08,640 –> 00:21:14,859I am what I am.29100:21:14,859 –> 00:21:21,459True Christians mourn their sins but they never end there.29200:21:21,459 –> 00:21:30,099Spiritual mourning is infused with hope that arises from the man of sorrows who carried29300:21:30,099 –> 00:21:39,040our griefs and carried our sorrows and bore them on the cross, so that drawing near to29400:21:39,040 –> 00:21:44,839him the Holy Spirit may take all the good that was purchased by him and apply it in29500:21:44,839 –> 00:21:52,500the deepest places of our lives, as we walk that path of genuine faith and repentance29600:21:52,500 –> 00:21:59,140until the day when the comfort that is begun now in Jesus Christ is complete and there29700:21:59,140 –> 00:22:02,400will be no more mourning.29800:22:02,400 –> 00:22:09,699For on that day God will wipe all tears from our eyes.29900:22:10,319 –> 00:22:16,339You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open The Bible with a message called Blessed30000:22:16,339 –> 00:22:21,459Are Those Who Mourn, part of our series, Momentum – How to Make Progress in the Christian30100:22:21,459 –> 00:22:22,459Life.30200:22:22,459 –> 00:22:26,839This series is all about how to make progress in your life, and it’s especially relevant30300:22:26,839 –> 00:22:31,199if you feel you’ve stopped growing, or have become stuck in a rut.30400:22:31,199 –> 00:22:35,479If you’ve missed any of the messages in the series, you can catch up or go back and30500:22:36,400 –> 00:22:41,420by coming online to our website, openthebible.org.uk,30600:22:41,420 –> 00:22:46,819or head for your favorite podcast sight and search there for Open The Bible UK.30700:22:46,819 –> 00:22:51,540You’ll find again the messages which have already been broadcast.30800:22:51,540 –> 00:22:56,699If you’ve been looking for a program for simple daily reflection, please checkout Open30900:22:56,699 –> 00:23:02,800The Bible Daily, it’s our series of 2 to 3 minutes daily reflections based on Pastor31000:23:02,939 –> 00:23:07,300Colin’s teaching, and read this month by Annie Pick.31100:23:07,300 –> 00:23:13,339It’s available on our website and as a podcast, Open the Bible Daily.31200:23:13,339 –> 00:23:17,260If you tune in regularly to Open the Bible, you’ll know that we’re only able to bring31300:23:17,260 –> 00:23:22,359you Pastor Colin’s messages on this program and on the Internet because of the generous31400:23:22,359 –> 00:23:25,199gift made by our many listeners.31500:23:25,199 –> 00:23:29,619If you already give to support our work, thank you so much.31600:23:29,619 –> 00:23:33,400If you’d like to begin supporting Open the Bible in that way,31700:23:33,400 –> 00:23:37,640here’s Open the Bible’s Amanda Cunningham to talk about our special offer this month.31800:23:37,640 –> 00:23:39,160Thanks, David.31900:23:39,160 –> 00:23:44,479This month we’re delighted here at Open the Bible UK to offer you a very special gift32000:23:44,479 –> 00:23:52,060– two copies of Christmas Stories, our beautifully illustrated book by Colin Smith.32100:23:52,060 –> 00:23:57,880The book brings the Christmas story to life through the eyes of five key biblical characters32200:23:58,300 –> 00:24:03,280The angel Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, Simeon and King Herod.32300:24:03,280 –> 00:24:09,619Each short chapter explores key events from the Bible with Scripture woven throughout,32400:24:09,619 –> 00:24:16,400offering a fresh and engaging way to discover the Christmas story and the good news of Jesus.32500:24:16,400 –> 00:24:23,160It’s a wonderful read for all ages and ideal for sharing with friends, neighbours or loved32600:24:23,160 –> 00:24:25,000ones this Christmas!32700:24:25,219 –> 00:24:31,079Why not pop a copy in with that box of chocolates or the annual pair of socks and give someone32800:24:31,079 –> 00:24:35,819a book that tells them about the best gift of all?32900:24:35,819 –> 00:24:42,099You can receive this gift as our thank you when you make a one off donation of £60 or33000:24:42,099 –> 00:24:47,099more or set up a new monthly direct debit of just £5.33100:24:47,099 –> 00:24:53,699But please do remember to include your address when you donate so that we can be sure to33200:24:53,739 –> 00:24:55,339found you your gift in the post.33300:24:55,339 –> 00:25:03,380Full details, terms and conditions of our offer you can find those on openthebible.org.uk33400:25:03,400 –> 00:25:05,420And you can give online.33500:25:05,420 –> 00:25:09,699For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, thanks for being with us33600:25:09,699 –> 00:25:14,900today and I look forward to you joining us again next time.33700:25:14,900 –> 00:25:25,380If you feel your life as a Christian hasn’t really developed for quite a while, this series33800:25:25,380 –> 00:25:26,900is for you!33900:25:26,900 –> 00:25:29,099Join us next time on Open The Bible