1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,920 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:06,920 –> 00:00:15,480 To contact us call us at 1-877-Open-365 or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:15,480 –> 00:00:17,719 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,719 –> 00:00:20,700 Here is pastor Colin. 5 00:00:20,700 –> 00:00:25,000 Morning everyone would you open your Bible at Matthew and chapter 5. 6 00:00:25,760 –> 00:00:31,400 As we are continuing our series on the Beatitudes there are wonderful words of blessing that 7 00:00:31,400 –> 00:00:34,779 were spoken from the mouth of the Son of God. 8 00:00:34,779 –> 00:00:41,200 I don’t want us to miss the most obvious point of all it is all about blessing. 9 00:00:41,200 –> 00:00:43,240 Blessed blessed blessed blessed. 10 00:00:43,240 –> 00:00:46,779 Eight times Jesus uses the word blessed. 11 00:00:46,779 –> 00:00:51,240 This is at the very opening of his ministry as he begins the sermon on the mount. 12 00:00:51,240 –> 00:00:57,820 The Son of God has come among us in order to speak to us about blessing and to lead 13 00:00:57,820 –> 00:01:02,020 us into everything about which he speaks. 14 00:01:02,020 –> 00:01:07,500 And just looking at the beginning of Matthew 5 as we read there that Jesus went up on this 15 00:01:07,500 –> 00:01:09,300 mountainside. 16 00:01:09,300 –> 00:01:11,199 Think of that. 17 00:01:11,199 –> 00:01:15,480 God on a mountain. 18 00:01:15,480 –> 00:01:17,279 We’ve had that before in the Bible. 19 00:01:17,279 –> 00:01:24,559 Do you remember Mount Sinai where the presence of God comes down and how absolutely terrifying 20 00:01:24,559 –> 00:01:25,839 that was. 21 00:01:25,839 –> 00:01:28,059 The people did not see God. 22 00:01:28,059 –> 00:01:34,820 He remained invisible, surrounded by smoke on a mountain, that was aflame with fire. 23 00:01:34,820 –> 00:01:37,220 There were loud sounds like trumpets. 24 00:01:37,220 –> 00:01:40,400 People were excluded from the immediate vicinity. 25 00:01:40,400 –> 00:01:46,720 There was a sort of exclusion zone around the bottom of the mountain and as the terrifying 26 00:01:46,739 –> 00:01:52,300 presence of God comes down in the giving of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, the book 27 00:01:52,300 –> 00:01:58,739 of Hebrews tells us that even Moses said I am shaking with fear. 28 00:01:58,739 –> 00:02:03,879 If even Moses is shaking with fear, what would it be like for you and what would it be like 29 00:02:03,879 –> 00:02:06,019 for me? 30 00:02:06,019 –> 00:02:09,479 But now here we see something entirely different. 31 00:02:09,479 –> 00:02:14,500 Now God has come down and taken human flesh. 32 00:02:14,500 –> 00:02:23,160 This is God with us, Emmanuel and the Son of God goes up the mountain, you see the contrast, 33 00:02:23,160 –> 00:02:27,179 and there is no fire and there is no smoke, this is a beautiful hillside, some of you 34 00:02:27,179 –> 00:02:30,059 have been able to visit the mountain of Beatitudes. 35 00:02:30,059 –> 00:02:35,940 What a beautiful place it is and the people are not excluded, His disciples come to Him, 36 00:02:35,940 –> 00:02:44,279 Matthew records in verse 1, and Jesus begins to speak not thundering words of condemnation, 37 00:02:44,679 –> 00:02:52,000 but wonderful, wonderful words of blessing – blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, who 38 00:02:52,000 –> 00:02:59,240 would not want to roll up a chair and listen to God in the flesh speaking about the life 39 00:02:59,240 –> 00:03:03,320 that is truly blessed. 40 00:03:03,320 –> 00:03:10,000 Everywhere through this series we are going to discover paths into the enjoyment of God, 41 00:03:10,339 –> 00:03:16,380 the riches of His blessing, and the Son of God here is saying to us, let me speak to 42 00:03:16,380 –> 00:03:18,240 you about this. 43 00:03:18,240 –> 00:03:25,020 And we began last time in verse three where Jesus makes this astonishing statement, where 44 00:03:25,020 –> 00:03:26,300 does blessing begin? 45 00:03:26,300 –> 00:03:31,940 And he says, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 46 00:03:31,940 –> 00:03:36,539 We saw last time that Christians are people who know they are on poverty, they look to 47 00:03:36,580 –> 00:03:42,360 Jesus for what they do not have, and they know that in Him they have everything that 48 00:03:42,360 –> 00:03:43,360 they need. 49 00:03:43,360 –> 00:03:47,360 Don’t you glad that the first beatitude is blessed are the poor in spirit. 50 00:03:47,360 –> 00:03:48,419 I can get there. 51 00:03:48,419 –> 00:03:49,539 I am there. 52 00:03:49,539 –> 00:03:51,179 I know what it is to be there. 53 00:03:51,179 –> 00:03:59,100 I’m so thankful that the first beatitude is not blessed are the pure in heart. 54 00:03:59,100 –> 00:04:04,619 If blessing begins with being pure in heart, that’s not the place where we can begin, but 55 00:04:04,660 –> 00:04:11,380 if blessing begins in knowing that I do not have what it takes when it comes before God, 56 00:04:11,380 –> 00:04:15,619 that’s the place where I can get on the first ring, as we’ve been using that analogy of 57 00:04:15,619 –> 00:04:21,140 swinging from one ring to another through these wonderful truths that Jesus gives to 58 00:04:21,140 –> 00:04:22,140 us here. 59 00:04:22,140 –> 00:04:26,299 Spurgeon has a different analogy from the rings, but I think it’s very helpful. 60 00:04:26,299 –> 00:04:33,660 He says this, If a ladder is to be useful, its first rung must be near the ground. 61 00:04:33,660 –> 00:04:35,059 Isn’t that good? 62 00:04:35,059 –> 00:04:37,880 What’s the point in a ladder, the first rung’s above your head? 63 00:04:37,880 –> 00:04:40,000 You can’t get on it. 64 00:04:40,000 –> 00:04:44,700 So thank God that the beatitudes do not begin with blessed are the pure in heart, because 65 00:04:44,700 –> 00:04:49,200 that’s not us, that’s where we want to be, but that’s not where we begin. 66 00:04:50,660 –> 00:04:53,160 It begins here, blessed are the poor in spirit. 67 00:04:53,179 –> 00:04:58,160 Blessed is the person who really comes to the place of saying, However praised I am 68 00:04:58,160 –> 00:05:03,279 in my business, or in my family, or in my sports team, I don’t have what it takes when 69 00:05:03,279 –> 00:05:06,480 it comes to standing before God. 70 00:05:06,480 –> 00:05:10,540 And so we saw last time that Jesus begins here. 71 00:05:10,540 –> 00:05:15,480 The law will bring you to a place that is called poor in spirit. 72 00:05:15,480 –> 00:05:19,440 That’s why even the law is a good gift of God, because it gets us on the first ring. 73 00:05:19,440 –> 00:05:22,839 It shows us how much we need Jesus Christ. 74 00:05:22,839 –> 00:05:27,600 The law will bring you to a place that is called poor in spirit, and Jesus Christ will 75 00:05:27,940 –> 00:05:29,540 meet you there. 76 00:05:29,540 –> 00:05:32,640 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 77 00:05:32,640 –> 00:05:33,920 And that’s where we’ve begun. 78 00:05:33,920 –> 00:05:38,440 Today we move then to the second beatitude that you’ll see that in verse 4. 79 00:05:38,440 –> 00:05:46,700 We have these words, blessed Jesus is still speaking about blessing, blessed are, and 80 00:05:46,700 –> 00:05:48,600 it’s astonishing, those who mourn. 81 00:05:48,600 –> 00:05:52,440 Now how do you put these two together? 82 00:05:52,480 –> 00:05:59,059 For they shall be comforted. 83 00:05:59,059 –> 00:06:00,459 Two things for us here today then. 84 00:06:00,459 –> 00:06:04,679 We’re going to look at the mourning that is blessed and then we’re going to look 85 00:06:04,679 –> 00:06:08,820 much more briefly at the blessing on those who mourn. 86 00:06:08,820 –> 00:06:11,459 Firstly, then the mourning that is blessed. 87 00:06:11,459 –> 00:06:15,359 Blessed are those who mourn. 88 00:06:15,359 –> 00:06:21,600 A very important question what is the mourning that is blessed? 89 00:06:21,600 –> 00:06:24,720 Because clearly not all mourning is blessed. 90 00:06:24,720 –> 00:06:32,679 There are three kinds of mourning and it is very important to distinguish between them. 91 00:06:32,679 –> 00:06:37,160 Number one there is what we would call natural mourning which is probably the first to come 92 00:06:37,160 –> 00:06:38,579 to our minds. 93 00:06:38,579 –> 00:06:43,059 That is, of course, grieving for someone you have lost. 94 00:06:43,059 –> 00:06:48,299 God has given you a wonderful gift and a person who has been very dear to you and that gift 95 00:06:48,299 –> 00:06:50,700 has been taken away. 96 00:06:50,820 –> 00:06:58,200 And so the natural proper response to that loss is to mourn. 97 00:06:58,200 –> 00:07:01,380 Those who have been bereaved in the congregation. 98 00:07:01,380 –> 00:07:07,880 All of you know what this is and some of you are walking this journey right now. 99 00:07:07,880 –> 00:07:09,600 Jesus knows this journey. 100 00:07:09,600 –> 00:07:14,220 He wept at the graveside of a dear friend. 101 00:07:14,220 –> 00:07:16,700 Jesus wept. 102 00:07:16,700 –> 00:07:20,320 That’s natural mourning. 103 00:07:20,320 –> 00:07:25,679 Now the presence of Jesus and the comfort of Jesus in the journey that a believer takes 104 00:07:25,679 –> 00:07:33,640 through the pains of bereavement is a very special and a treasured gift from God. 105 00:07:33,640 –> 00:07:38,279 But it is not what Jesus is speaking about here. 106 00:07:38,279 –> 00:07:40,779 And here’s why I say that. 107 00:07:40,779 –> 00:07:48,959 In the Beatitudes, Jesus is speaking about qualities that we should pursue. 108 00:07:49,019 –> 00:07:52,299 Qualities that we should go after. 109 00:07:52,299 –> 00:07:58,820 Qualities that we should get as much of in our lives as we possibly can. 110 00:07:58,820 –> 00:08:05,739 Jesus is speaking about conditions of heart and life that are so laden with blessing that 111 00:08:05,739 –> 00:08:09,880 no person can ever get too much of them. 112 00:08:09,880 –> 00:08:16,320 That is true of all seven Beatitudes, going after purity, going after being merciful, 113 00:08:16,519 –> 00:08:20,660 going after meekness, going after hunger and thirst for righteousness. 114 00:08:20,660 –> 00:08:22,920 You can never get too much of these things. 115 00:08:22,920 –> 00:08:28,859 And then an eighth Beatitude is added which is simply the consequence of going after this 116 00:08:28,859 –> 00:08:35,859 kind of life and that is of course, that the world will persecute you, as a result of it. 117 00:08:35,859 –> 00:08:41,700 But all of the Beatitudes then are speaking to us of qualities that we are to pursue. 118 00:08:41,700 –> 00:08:46,159 Now nobody would say that about natural mourning. 119 00:08:46,200 –> 00:08:50,520 Anybody who is going through the sorrow of bereavement would say, I want to go after 120 00:08:50,520 –> 00:08:53,400 as much of this as I can possibly get. 121 00:08:53,400 –> 00:08:55,760 Nobody would say that. 122 00:08:55,760 –> 00:09:00,419 So I am saying to you, therefore, that as treasured as it is that Christ walks with 123 00:09:00,419 –> 00:09:07,239 the believer in the valleys of bereavement, and He does, that nevertheless is not what 124 00:09:07,239 –> 00:09:11,219 Jesus is speaking about here. 125 00:09:12,020 –> 00:09:17,219 There’s a second, and very different kind of mourning, and again it’s a mourning that 126 00:09:17,239 –> 00:09:24,119 Jesus is not speaking about here, and that I’m going to describe as sinful mourning. 127 00:09:24,119 –> 00:09:30,599 And sinful mourning is simply pining after something that God has not given. 128 00:09:30,599 –> 00:09:32,799 And that’s very different from natural mourning. 129 00:09:32,799 –> 00:09:36,880 It’s natural for us to grieve what God has taken away. 130 00:09:36,880 –> 00:09:39,099 The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. 131 00:09:39,299 –> 00:09:42,900 There’s a grief that is natural to that. 132 00:09:42,900 –> 00:09:44,739 But sinful mourning is something very different. 133 00:09:44,739 –> 00:09:49,859 It is a pining after something that God never intended you to have. 134 00:09:49,859 –> 00:09:55,280 Paul speaks about this in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10. 135 00:09:55,280 –> 00:09:59,219 He speaks about a worldly sorrow that leads to death. 136 00:09:59,219 –> 00:10:02,260 There’s a kind of sorrowing that’s killing. 137 00:10:02,260 –> 00:10:06,260 A kind of grieving that causes death inside. 138 00:10:06,260 –> 00:10:08,539 And what is this sinful mourning? 139 00:10:08,619 –> 00:10:15,400 It is to pine after what God never intended you to have. 140 00:10:15,400 –> 00:10:19,739 There’s an example of that, many examples in the Bible, but just to take one, we’re 141 00:10:19,739 –> 00:10:26,200 told in the book of Kings in chapter 21, the story of King Ahab, God gave him very much. 142 00:10:26,200 –> 00:10:28,380 God gave him a palace. 143 00:10:28,380 –> 00:10:34,059 God gave him a kingdom, despite the fact that he was a wretched king. 144 00:10:34,099 –> 00:10:45,179 And beyond the boundaries of the palace, there was an adjoining little field that was a vineyard. 145 00:10:45,179 –> 00:10:51,020 It belonged to a man, a poor man, by the name of Naboth. 146 00:10:51,020 –> 00:10:56,179 And although the king had all of his palace, he set his eye on this little vineyard that 147 00:10:56,179 –> 00:10:59,140 he rather liked. 148 00:10:59,239 –> 00:11:07,159 And then he set his heart to the little vineyard, and it began to get into him. 149 00:11:07,159 –> 00:11:14,219 He looked at what God had given his neighbor, and he began to use the Bible’s word to 150 00:11:14,219 –> 00:11:15,219 covet. 151 00:11:15,219 –> 00:11:16,820 In fact, it’s interesting the way the Bible describes it. 152 00:11:16,820 –> 00:11:25,940 In Kings 2, chapter 21, the Bible says that Ahab became vexed, he became sullen. 153 00:11:25,940 –> 00:11:27,940 These are the words the Bible uses. 154 00:11:27,940 –> 00:11:31,299 We might use another word today, we might use the word pouting. 155 00:11:31,299 –> 00:11:37,900 Here’s the King and he’s pouting around the palace, right? 156 00:11:37,900 –> 00:11:39,739 And why is he pouting? 157 00:11:39,739 –> 00:11:46,780 Because his mind is full of what God has given to someone else but hasn’t given to him. 158 00:11:46,780 –> 00:11:51,260 And this pining after what God did not intend him to have eventually consumes him. 159 00:11:51,280 –> 00:12:01,260 It leads to the murder of Naboth and brings the very opposite of blessing into the life 160 00:12:01,260 –> 00:12:02,859 of Ahab. 161 00:12:02,859 –> 00:12:07,599 So there is a kind of sinful mourning, becoming obsessed with what God didn’t give you. 162 00:12:07,599 –> 00:12:09,640 And that is always a killer. 163 00:12:09,640 –> 00:12:14,619 It leads to death, the Bible says, and obviously by definition, therefore sinful mourning is 164 00:12:14,739 –> 00:12:19,679 not what Jesus is speaking about here because that kind of mourning is never, never, never 165 00:12:19,679 –> 00:12:21,799 blessed. 166 00:12:21,799 –> 00:12:25,020 So he’s not talking about natural mourning because he’s talking about something we should 167 00:12:25,020 –> 00:12:29,440 go after and nobody would say that about bereavement. 168 00:12:29,440 –> 00:12:33,080 He’s not talking about sinful mourning because He’s talking about something that is blessed 169 00:12:33,080 –> 00:12:38,280 and sinful mourning, a pining after what God never intended you to have, it brings death, 170 00:12:38,280 –> 00:12:40,739 it certainly does not bring life or blessing. 171 00:12:40,739 –> 00:12:46,580 So now we’re in a position to be very clear about what Jesus is speaking about, spiritual 172 00:12:46,580 –> 00:12:54,159 mourning which is sorrow over our sins against God that’s what He’s speaking about here. 173 00:12:54,159 –> 00:13:01,820 And He says this is blessed, blessing is found here, joy will be found in your life in as 174 00:13:01,820 –> 00:13:09,679 much as you know this, you are blessed, you cannot get too much of this says Jesus. 175 00:13:09,719 –> 00:13:14,479 This is the Godly sorrow that Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 176 00:13:14,479 –> 00:13:21,380 10 and is blessed because it produces the repentance that leads to life and that is 177 00:13:21,380 –> 00:13:25,599 what Jesus is speaking about here. 178 00:13:25,599 –> 00:13:29,919 Now friends I want to suggest to you today now that we know what Jesus is speaking about 179 00:13:29,940 –> 00:13:37,960 that these words are of huge incalculable importance to the church of Jesus Christ 180 00:13:37,960 –> 00:13:40,700 today. 181 00:13:40,700 –> 00:13:48,119 And I say it for this reason, that there are many, many people who would assume themselves 182 00:13:48,119 –> 00:13:55,479 to be Christians and would identify themselves as Christians who know very little of the 183 00:13:55,479 –> 00:13:58,039 joy and the life of Jesus Christ. 184 00:13:58,039 –> 00:14:04,159 And one reason is that they have experienced very, very little of the spiritual mourning 185 00:14:04,159 –> 00:14:07,799 that Jesus speaks about here. 186 00:14:07,799 –> 00:14:13,840 And I think that that barrenness and that loss has been multiplied in our time because 187 00:14:13,840 –> 00:14:23,159 in our culture especially, we are surrounded by a form of faith that is unrecognizably 188 00:14:23,159 –> 00:14:27,440 different from what is laid out for us in the scriptures. 189 00:14:27,440 –> 00:14:33,159 And I want to take a moment to try and show you that as clearly as I can. 190 00:14:33,159 –> 00:14:40,580 We rejoice in the wonderful truth that as believers we are justified by faith, and in 191 00:14:40,580 –> 00:14:43,960 that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 192 00:14:43,960 –> 00:14:50,239 That’s the wonderful and glorious statement of Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. 193 00:14:50,280 –> 00:14:54,580 But why is it that a believer is justified by faith? 194 00:14:54,580 –> 00:15:01,359 What is it about faith as opposed to works or anything else that brings a person into 195 00:15:01,359 –> 00:15:04,119 the place of being in a right relationship with God? 196 00:15:04,119 –> 00:15:13,140 And the answer is simply this, that in the Bible a believer is justified by faith because 197 00:15:13,140 –> 00:15:18,520 faith unites a person to Jesus Christ. 198 00:15:18,559 –> 00:15:25,479 Faith is the bond of a living union with Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ who justifies, and 199 00:15:25,479 –> 00:15:32,979 sanctifies and glorifies believers through the power of his shed blood applied to them 200 00:15:32,979 –> 00:15:38,520 personally by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. 201 00:15:38,520 –> 00:15:44,059 And all of that is contained in the wonderful simple statement that we are justified by 202 00:15:44,059 –> 00:15:45,059 faith. 203 00:15:45,059 –> 00:15:46,239 Why am I justified by faith? 204 00:15:46,239 –> 00:15:51,520 Because faith is the bond of a living union with Jesus Christ who justifies, sanctifies, 205 00:15:51,520 –> 00:15:58,239 and glorifies the believer through the application of the power of his shed blood by the presence 206 00:15:58,239 –> 00:16:03,099 and the power of the Holy Spirit in that person’s life. 207 00:16:03,099 –> 00:16:10,299 Now, that’s the very core of what we believe, the truth on which we stand in the Bible. 208 00:16:10,780 –> 00:16:18,140 But friends, here is what has happened widely over the last half century and more in our 209 00:16:18,140 –> 00:16:19,140 culture. 210 00:16:19,140 –> 00:16:20,780 Two things. 211 00:16:20,780 –> 00:16:28,119 One, the faith that unites a person to Jesus Christ who justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies, 212 00:16:28,119 –> 00:16:35,460 that faith that unites a person to Jesus Christ has been reduced to or replaced by mere belief, 213 00:16:36,280 –> 00:16:39,679 an ascent to certain truths. 214 00:16:39,679 –> 00:16:46,880 Now friends, simply believing certain things will not change you. 215 00:16:46,880 –> 00:16:50,359 Jesus Christ will change you. 216 00:16:50,359 –> 00:16:55,559 Faith justifies because it is the bond of a living union with Jesus Christ who justifies, 217 00:16:55,559 –> 00:16:57,239 and sanctifies, and glorifies. 218 00:16:57,239 –> 00:16:59,039 It’s Jesus Christ who changes you. 219 00:16:59,039 –> 00:17:04,079 It’s the presence of Christ in a person’s life that is life-changing. 220 00:17:04,119 –> 00:17:06,780 It’s not simply believing certain things. 221 00:17:07,060 –> 00:17:13,060 Faith is the bond of a living union with Jesus Christ, and when Jesus Christ enters 222 00:17:13,060 –> 00:17:20,979 the life, He comes to forgive you, and He comes to make you holy. 223 00:17:20,979 –> 00:17:24,979 He accepts you as you are, that’s grace. 224 00:17:24,979 –> 00:17:30,819 But He never leaves you as you are, and that’s grace, too. 225 00:17:31,040 –> 00:17:37,660 The replacement of a faith that unites people to Jesus Christ in the bond of a living and 226 00:17:37,660 –> 00:17:43,739 personal union with this sort of notional assent to certain truths on which I can sign 227 00:17:43,739 –> 00:17:52,420 off leads to thousands of people who quote, accept Christ, but never come to a place of 228 00:17:52,420 –> 00:17:57,680 bowing to His Lordship over their lives, and think they’re Christians without ever experiencing 229 00:17:57,680 –> 00:18:01,760 the blessing of those who are in Christ. 230 00:18:01,760 –> 00:18:09,560 That is a form of faith so far from the biblical reality and so far from it in the reality 231 00:18:09,560 –> 00:18:13,880 of experience as to be utterly unrecognizable. 232 00:18:13,880 –> 00:18:19,500 It is a form of faith that leaves the person essentially unchanged. 233 00:18:19,520 –> 00:18:28,699 And when the world looks at this, it despises it, and it is right to do so because this 234 00:18:28,699 –> 00:18:35,900 is nothing that is anywhere near to a recognizable form of biblical faith. 235 00:18:35,900 –> 00:18:42,400 Second massive emaciation, evisceration that has taken place is that the repentance that 236 00:18:42,479 –> 00:18:49,479 the Bible involves a change of direction, has been reduced to simply admitting that 237 00:18:50,359 –> 00:18:54,319 I am a sinner, and saying a prayer. There’s all the difference in the world between these 238 00:18:54,319 –> 00:18:59,040 two things. Listen to the words of Scripture, and try 239 00:18:59,040 –> 00:19:06,040 to take in just for a moment with me how far this sort of popularized, emaciated posing 240 00:19:06,339 –> 00:19:12,920 under the banner of Christianity really is in comparison with true Biblical faith. 241 00:19:12,920 –> 00:19:16,640 Let me give you just two simple statements, well known ones from the Bible, one from the 242 00:19:16,640 –> 00:19:20,699 Old Testament, and one from the New, and see how far this is from the sort of thing that 243 00:19:20,699 –> 00:19:26,119 is widely repeated around us in many churches today. 244 00:19:26,119 –> 00:19:33,119 This is Isaiah, 55. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He is near. 245 00:19:33,680 –> 00:19:40,680 What does that mean? Here is what Isaiah says. Let the wicked forsake His way. Let the wicked 246 00:19:41,959 –> 00:19:48,959 forsake His way. Leave it, turn. And the unrighteous man is thoughts. So there is a turning from 247 00:19:51,119 –> 00:19:58,119 wicked ways, leaving, forsaking. There is a turning from wicked thoughts. There is something 248 00:19:59,119 –> 00:20:06,119 decisive here, there is change here. Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion 249 00:20:08,060 –> 00:20:12,160 on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. 250 00:20:12,160 –> 00:20:16,359 So what is God saying here? He is saying to the wicked, you must forsake your way, forsake 251 00:20:16,359 –> 00:20:23,359 it. Leave it. Turn. That’s a world difference from admit that you’re a sinner. Hugely 252 00:20:24,199 –> 00:20:31,199 different. Very easy to admit that I’m a sinner and carry on sinning. And God is calling me 253 00:20:34,599 –> 00:20:38,939 to something different here. He’s calling me to repentance which is much more than admitting 254 00:20:38,939 –> 00:20:44,339 that I’m a sinner. Here’s a New Testament version of the same 255 00:20:44,339 –> 00:20:50,560 thing. It’s from 2 Timothy Chapter 2 in verse 19 and listen to what is said here. God’s 256 00:20:50,560 –> 00:20:57,699 foundation stands firm, bearing the seal. So Paul is talking about something foundational, 257 00:20:57,699 –> 00:21:04,060 something that’s at the very core of everything in relation to Christianity. Here’s God’s 258 00:21:04,060 –> 00:21:07,920 foundation and it bears the seal. And it’s in two parts. Here’s number one. The Lord 259 00:21:07,920 –> 00:21:15,479 knows who are His, and secondly, how do we know who are His? Oh, here’s the mark of 260 00:21:15,479 –> 00:21:22,739 a person who is His. Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity, 261 00:21:22,739 –> 00:21:29,140 depart from iniquity. In other words what is being said here is this is absolutely foundational 262 00:21:29,140 –> 00:21:34,760 to what it means to be a Christian. If you are going to name the name of the Lord, here’s 263 00:21:34,760 –> 00:21:40,079 what it means for you, you’ve got to depart from iniquity. Not simply admit that you’re 264 00:21:40,920 –> 00:21:47,000 say a prayer. If there is to be the bond of a living union between you and Jesus Christ 265 00:21:47,000 –> 00:21:54,380 then the faith that will be the bond of that living union will also be the wellspring of 266 00:21:54,380 –> 00:22:04,760 repentance and it begins from day one. So the call of God to repentance, that involves 267 00:22:04,760 –> 00:22:08,560 a change of direction being replaced by simply admitting that you’re a sinner and asking 268 00:22:08,560 –> 00:22:16,719 Jesus to forgive you. Can you see how huge a shift that is? And having heard much growing 269 00:22:16,719 –> 00:22:26,260 up of that kind of emaciated form of faith that poses under the banner of Christianity, 270 00:22:26,260 –> 00:22:33,239 I remember when I was 17 years old is when this truth really first came home to me. I 271 00:22:33,280 –> 00:22:41,239 was 17, some of you are a bit younger. I went to a Convention in England, big conference, 272 00:22:41,239 –> 00:22:48,939 and heard Dr. Alan Redpath, who one time was the pastor of Moody church. He was a senior 273 00:22:48,939 –> 00:22:54,619 preacher in his last years. And I’ll never forget the Force. Seventeen years old I was 274 00:22:54,719 –> 00:23:08,660 hearing him say God has not promised to forgive one sin that you are not willing to forsake. 275 00:23:08,660 –> 00:23:17,239 And for a boy who knew too much about cheap grace, that one right in. How dare I 17 year 276 00:23:17,400 –> 00:23:24,680 old Colin come before God and say I admit I’m a sinner and please forgive me while I have 277 00:23:24,680 –> 00:23:36,439 every intention of carrying on doing the same thing. God has not promised to forgive one sin 278 00:23:37,000 –> 00:23:49,640 that you are not willing to forsake. And if a generation grows up with a 279 00:23:49,640 –> 00:23:54,839 kind of belief because of an emaciated presentation of the gospel that all you really need to do is 280 00:23:54,839 –> 00:23:59,640 admit you’re a sinner and that there shouldn’t be any great expectation of change, then what’s 281 00:23:59,640 –> 00:24:03,319 going to happen? You’re going to have a generation growing up in church world that thinks 282 00:24:04,040 –> 00:24:09,239 the gospel is essentially about everything being written off as far as my sins are concerned and 283 00:24:09,239 –> 00:24:14,359 going to heaven for the future and basically continuing to pursue the american dream as an 284 00:24:14,359 –> 00:24:26,680 unchanged person, with faith added. A.W. Tozer saw this coming, writing in this city of Chicago 285 00:24:26,680 –> 00:24:34,280 more than half a century ago, 1948, this is what A.W. Tozer said. He saw the change coming, 286 00:24:35,000 –> 00:24:41,400 he saw how a new form of faith that is not biblical faith was substituting the 287 00:24:41,400 –> 00:24:46,839 reality of repentance and faith and he said this, the whole transaction of religious conversion 288 00:24:46,839 –> 00:24:53,239 has been made mechanical and spiritless, faith may now be exercised, he says, without a jar 289 00:24:53,239 –> 00:24:59,079 to the mortal life, in other words no real change of direction, without embarrassment to the Adamic 290 00:24:59,079 –> 00:25:05,239 ego, in other words never really coming to know my own poverty before God. He said, describing 291 00:25:05,239 –> 00:25:11,719 what he was seeing in 1948, Christ may now be quote received, without creating any special 292 00:25:11,719 –> 00:25:17,079 love for him in the soul of the receiver, the man thinks himself quote saved but he 293 00:25:17,079 –> 00:25:25,560 is not hungry or thirsty after God. So, folks we are surrounded by a form of faith that is 294 00:25:25,560 –> 00:25:31,400 posing under the banner of Christianity, a faith that has been redefined to accommodate 295 00:25:31,400 –> 00:25:39,800 our own intransigence and a repentance that has been repackaged, reshaped to fit our own 296 00:25:39,800 –> 00:25:48,180 continuing indulgence. And the result is a growing mass of people who admit that they 297 00:25:48,180 –> 00:25:53,520 are sinners and quote, accept Jesus and yet have not really experienced the life that 298 00:25:53,520 –> 00:25:57,900 is in Christ. And what is the evidence of that? The evidence is that they do not feel 299 00:25:57,900 –> 00:26:07,319 poor in spirit, and they do not really know what it is to mourn over their own sins, and 300 00:26:07,359 –> 00:26:14,359 there really isn’t a hunger and a thirst after righteousness or a submissiveness to the will 301 00:26:14,359 –> 00:26:24,000 of God when it’s hard. They’re not merciful, and there’s not much purity of heart either. 302 00:26:24,000 –> 00:26:31,839 And most of all, there is missing out on the sheer joy of all that’s in Christ, the blessing 303 00:26:31,839 –> 00:26:36,920 of all that’s in Christ. They hear folks who are real Christians speak about the joy that 304 00:26:36,920 –> 00:26:44,079 they’ve found in the Lord, and they don’t really know what that is. So I’m saying to 305 00:26:44,079 –> 00:26:49,680 you that this Beatitude, the second one that we’re focusing on today and then looking at 306 00:26:49,680 –> 00:27:01,400 how to pursue it next week, it’s of huge importance to the whole church of Jesus Christ today. 307 00:27:01,400 –> 00:27:10,099 do we know about spiritual mourning? The kind of sorrow over my own sins that takes them 308 00:27:10,099 –> 00:27:20,520 so seriously that I am not in the pattern of cyclical repetition of the same old thing 309 00:27:20,520 –> 00:27:26,079 again and again? Why does that happen? Because it’s too easy to just say, sorry Lord, thank 310 00:27:26,079 –> 00:27:36,880 you that you forgave me and I’ll be back next time. Spiritual mourning. Let me just frame 311 00:27:36,880 –> 00:27:43,380 out a little more for you today what the spiritual mourning looks like. It really has three distinguishing 312 00:27:43,380 –> 00:27:50,260 marks and three words if you just want to write them down are humility, heart and hope. 313 00:27:50,520 –> 00:27:56,979 Spiritual mourning is marked by these three things, humility, heart and hope. So just 314 00:27:56,979 –> 00:28:03,979 to frame that out spiritual mourning first arises from humility. In other words this 315 00:28:04,380 –> 00:28:13,500 follows as a natural outcrop or consequence or outflow from being poor in spirit. Get 316 00:28:13,500 –> 00:28:19,199 on the first ring we’re saying. Swing on that first ring. Once you’re on that first 317 00:28:19,239 –> 00:28:23,439 ring you will not find that you are far away from the second. You will find that the second 318 00:28:23,439 –> 00:28:29,719 comes within your reach. You begin to see, I do not have what it takes before God, then 319 00:28:29,719 –> 00:28:35,640 you begin to mourn over the sins that are yours and you begin to mourn over the righteousness 320 00:28:35,640 –> 00:28:40,680 you lack. We’ve been picturing you, remember the Beatitudes 321 00:28:40,680 –> 00:28:44,920 as a series of seven rings and this is the whole principle that we are walking through 322 00:28:45,140 –> 00:28:51,219 series that you move forward in the Christian life by moving from the one to next. 323 00:28:51,219 –> 00:28:55,119 Friends, here’s what that means. You can’t start on the second ring, you’ve got to start 324 00:28:55,119 –> 00:29:01,560 from the first. There is continuity. You see there is a certain pleasure in every 325 00:29:01,560 –> 00:29:07,300 sin, a passing pleasure but a certain pleasure in every sin. Nobody would sin if there was 326 00:29:07,300 –> 00:29:13,560 not a certain pleasure associated with every sin and so there is an attraction for sins 327 00:29:13,579 –> 00:29:20,260 that we have indulged that has got us, and so that leads to this great question, 328 00:29:20,260 –> 00:29:27,260 well how can I come to hate what I used to love? To turn from what I used to choose? 329 00:29:29,239 –> 00:29:33,780 I can’t suddenly sit there in a chair and say I’m going to make that switch. No of course 330 00:29:33,780 –> 00:29:39,719 you can’t. You can’t start on the second ring, you start on the first. But you swing on that 331 00:29:39,920 –> 00:29:44,239 first string, you really take hold of your own need and your own poverty before God, 332 00:29:44,239 –> 00:29:48,479 and you’re not having what it takes, and everything that we’ve been looking at, that will get 333 00:29:48,479 –> 00:29:55,479 you to the place where mourning’s beginning. It arises from humility. Discovering your 334 00:29:57,280 –> 00:30:03,540 own true position before God. Get on the first string, and it will not be long before the 335 00:30:04,140 –> 00:30:10,719 second is within your grasp. Second, distinguishing characteristics. 336 00:30:10,719 –> 00:30:16,260 Spiritual mourning’s a matter of the heart. Now, everyone knows there’s a huge difference 337 00:30:16,260 –> 00:30:23,260 between the person who says I’m sorry, and is merely trying to resolve a problem, and 338 00:30:23,420 –> 00:30:28,099 the person who says I’m sorry, and really is sorry from the heart. We all know about 339 00:30:28,180 –> 00:30:34,619 that, and the spiritual mourning that we’re talking about is more than saying sorry to 340 00:30:34,619 –> 00:30:41,619 God. It is a matter of the heart. The Bible tells us a story about King Saul, and he went 341 00:30:45,079 –> 00:30:51,880 to battle. This was in 1 Samuel, chapter 15, and he disobeyed the specific commands of 342 00:30:51,880 –> 00:30:58,880 God and he took plunder for himself, and he took plunder for his men. The man cheated, 343 00:30:58,959 –> 00:31:05,959 the man deceived, and the man stole. And then he lied to cover it up, but through the prophet 344 00:31:09,199 –> 00:31:16,199 Samuel he was found out, and when he was found out he immediately said how sorry he was. 345 00:31:16,280 –> 00:31:23,280 He comes to Samuel, and he says, I have sinned, I have transgressed the commandment of the 346 00:31:25,439 –> 00:31:32,439 Lord, and then he said something else that gives the game away that his being sorry really 347 00:31:32,660 –> 00:31:37,239 doesn’t come from the heart at all. He says to Samuel, I’ve sinned, but please 348 00:31:37,239 –> 00:31:44,239 now honor me before the elders of the people. I’m very sorry, but what I’m really focused 349 00:31:45,060 –> 00:31:50,319 on is damage limitation. And I want you to make sure that everyone 350 00:31:50,319 –> 00:31:55,760 else thinks I’m a great guy. And you know the rest of the story of Saul. If you don’t, 351 00:31:55,760 –> 00:31:59,959 it’s a disaster. That’s all you need to know, because there never really was repentance 352 00:31:59,959 –> 00:32:06,959 from the heart in the man. Just damage limitation. So, spiritual mourning comes from the heart. 353 00:32:07,959 –> 00:32:14,959 And that’s why it really is key to tackling what we sometimes call these habitual sins. 354 00:32:19,420 –> 00:32:26,420 To come to a place of saying, oh God, I’ve come to see the extent of this thing. I’ve 355 00:32:30,300 –> 00:32:36,359 come to grieve this thing. And we’re going to see as we move forward in the series that 356 00:32:36,400 –> 00:32:39,920 that’s going to lead further onto a third ring of submission to the will of God, and 357 00:32:39,920 –> 00:32:44,619 then onto a fourth ring that’s called what? Hunger and thirst after righteousness. This 358 00:32:44,619 –> 00:32:49,099 is how change moves forward in a Christian life. It’s never one step in the process, 359 00:32:49,099 –> 00:32:56,099 but you never move forward without this. You can’t. God promises mercy to mourners and 360 00:32:58,959 –> 00:33:05,959 those who do not mourn their sin are in great danger of presuming mercy. They are not on 361 00:33:05,979 –> 00:33:12,140 the path of repentance. They are on the path of presumption. One quote, and then we’ll 362 00:33:12,140 –> 00:33:17,180 move on to the next thing. Alexander McLaren says this. It’s very powerful. 363 00:33:17,180 –> 00:33:21,479 If you have never been down on your knees before God feeling what a wicked man or woman 364 00:33:21,479 –> 00:33:28,099 you are, I hugely doubt whether you will ever stand with radiant face before God and praise 365 00:33:28,099 –> 00:33:34,859 him through eternity for his mercy to you. And why does he say that? Because God promises 366 00:33:34,859 –> 00:33:43,400 mercy to mourners. Not trite people who say, I’ve admitted that I’m a sinner. You see the 367 00:33:43,400 –> 00:33:48,599 difference, don’t you? There’s all the difference in the world. 368 00:33:48,599 –> 00:34:00,040 Third, spiritual mourning is infused with hope. Spiritual mourning is infused with hope. 369 00:34:00,420 –> 00:34:12,659 Now, Judas grieved over his sin, but Judas did not mourn spiritually for this reason. 370 00:34:12,659 –> 00:34:22,280 That his grief led him to despair, and despair is always the work of Satan. It 371 00:34:22,280 –> 00:34:28,080 is never the work of the Holy Spirit. Remember that whenever you become serious 372 00:34:28,120 –> 00:34:32,879 about the things of God, that is happening because the Holy Spirit is at 373 00:34:32,879 –> 00:34:39,040 work in your life. But as soon as the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, the 374 00:34:39,040 –> 00:34:44,959 enemy of your soul is going to be paying attention. And so it’s very important at 375 00:34:44,959 –> 00:34:49,760 this point to be able to distinguish the work of Satan from the work of the Holy 376 00:34:49,760 –> 00:34:53,760 Spirit. Very important to be able to make that distinction. Here’s one way that you 377 00:34:53,760 –> 00:34:59,300 make it. Satan will lead you to despair of yourself, but he will never lead you 378 00:34:59,300 –> 00:35:03,500 to hope in Jesus Christ. So he’ll just leave you in dspair, he’ll 379 00:35:03,500 –> 00:35:07,800 just leave you consumed with mourning, he’ll never let you get to the place 380 00:35:07,800 –> 00:35:12,659 that says, for they shall be comforted, that’s why they’re blessed, the Holy 381 00:35:12,659 –> 00:35:16,500 Spirit will bring you to an end of yourself, the Holy Spirit will bring 382 00:35:16,500 –> 00:35:22,860 tears to your eyes perhaps. Overseeing the extent of your sin and what you’ve 383 00:35:23,060 –> 00:35:26,939 done to others and what the offense of this really looks like to God and how 384 00:35:26,939 –> 00:35:30,899 long this pattern has actually been there, and you begin to see the extent of 385 00:35:30,899 –> 00:35:39,659 it. And you begin to say with Paul, oh wretched man that I am, but the work of 386 00:35:39,659 –> 00:35:43,419 the Holy Spirit friend will never never never leave you there. 387 00:35:43,419 –> 00:35:48,260 Judah’s mourning is not spiritual mourning, it’s him being consumed with 388 00:35:48,879 –> 00:35:55,800 that’s why he goes and he takes his life. Despair. But the Holy Spirit will never 389 00:35:55,800 –> 00:36:01,820 leave you in despair. True repentance leads to life that’s why it’s blessed, 390 00:36:01,820 –> 00:36:08,040 this is why there is comfort that is in them, that is in it. Thomas Watson, I just 391 00:36:08,040 –> 00:36:11,800 loved picking up his pithy little phrases, and here’s another one, he says 392 00:36:12,540 –> 00:36:19,500 gospel tears drop from the eye of faith. 393 00:36:19,500 –> 00:36:23,820 See what he’s saying? There’s a way of weeping over sin and I don’t want to get 394 00:36:23,820 –> 00:36:26,820 hung up on whether there are physical tears or not, we’re talking about the 395 00:36:26,820 –> 00:36:31,300 heart. But what he’s saying, you understand what he’s saying is that 396 00:36:31,300 –> 00:36:38,899 there can be tears that are simply self-deprecation but gospel tears fall 397 00:36:39,300 –> 00:36:45,659 from the eye of faith. They have an eye on the cross. They see the extent of my 398 00:36:45,659 –> 00:36:50,340 sinfulness in the light of the price that Jesus Christ paid for it on the 399 00:36:50,340 –> 00:36:59,219 cross. That’s where there’s hope. Hope friend is the signature mark of 400 00:36:59,219 –> 00:37:04,020 spiritual morning. There’s not spiritual morning if there isn’t hope there. So 401 00:37:04,020 –> 00:37:08,399 when Jesus is talking about the blessing, the joy, the comfort that comes to those 402 00:37:08,479 –> 00:37:13,639 who really mourn their own sins he is pointing us to this a spiritual morning 403 00:37:13,639 –> 00:37:18,760 that is marked by humility that comes from the heart and is absolutely infused 404 00:37:18,760 –> 00:37:25,919 with hope that streams from Christ crucified the man of sorrows who is the 405 00:37:25,919 –> 00:37:32,719 friend of sinners. And that is why authentic Christian experience is always 406 00:37:32,719 –> 00:37:37,419 a two-sided coin it is always a two-sided coin 407 00:37:37,419 –> 00:37:41,179 Paul puts it this way you’ll find that once you see this in the Bible you’ll 408 00:37:41,179 –> 00:37:44,540 start seeing it everywhere Paul says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 409 00:37:44,540 –> 00:37:48,620 in verse 10 we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing 410 00:37:48,620 –> 00:37:54,439 it’s not a striking phrase sorrowful yet always rejoicing why because we see our 411 00:37:54,439 –> 00:37:58,500 own need we mourn our own sins there’s you never outgrow that just like we 412 00:37:58,500 –> 00:38:02,459 never get to a place where we’re sinlessly perfect where all was seeing 413 00:38:02,459 –> 00:38:07,639 how we need to grow further and always seeking the grace of God to move forward 414 00:38:07,639 –> 00:38:12,540 sorrowful yet always rejoicing why because the kind of spiritual mourning 415 00:38:12,540 –> 00:38:16,620 we’re talking about does not leave us in the place of despair it it brings us to 416 00:38:16,620 –> 00:38:21,439 the cross and to the place of hope and to Jesus Christ so the two sides to the 417 00:38:21,439 –> 00:38:25,959 coin of genuine Christian experience always keep these two together it’s so 418 00:38:25,959 –> 00:38:30,520 important remind yourself of this the true Christian says who is sufficient 419 00:38:30,520 –> 00:38:35,699 for these things you come to the place you say how am I going to get through 420 00:38:35,699 –> 00:38:42,600 this next week you feel your need but the work of 421 00:38:42,600 –> 00:38:46,080 the Holy Spirit will never leave you there 422 00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:52,080 biblical experience is refused with infused with hope and therefore the 423 00:38:52,080 –> 00:38:55,800 person who says who is sufficient for these things also goes on to say with 424 00:38:55,879 –> 00:39:02,520 Paul our sufficiency is of God spiritual morning will lead you to the place of 425 00:39:02,520 –> 00:39:08,360 saying Oh wretched man that I am but because it is infused with hope the Holy 426 00:39:08,360 –> 00:39:11,800 Spirit will not leave you there the other side of the coin is this slut 427 00:39:11,800 –> 00:39:17,620 thanks be to God who gives me the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord 428 00:39:17,620 –> 00:39:21,500 spiritual morning may lead you to the place of identifying with Apostle Paul 429 00:39:21,500 –> 00:39:26,659 what he says I am the chief of sinners and you’ll say I am there and I see in 430 00:39:26,659 –> 00:39:32,340 myself what I have come to loathe and morn and grieve but the Holy Spirit of 431 00:39:32,340 –> 00:39:36,540 its spiritual morning will never leave you there as well as saying I am the 432 00:39:36,540 –> 00:39:40,879 chief of sinners he will also lead you through the hope of the Gospel to say 433 00:39:41,020 –> 00:39:48,840 but by the grace of God I am what I am. 434 00:39:48,860 –> 00:39:56,419 True Christians mourn their sins but they never end there spiritual morning 435 00:39:56,419 –> 00:40:04,780 is infused with hope that arises from the man of sorrows who carried our 436 00:40:04,939 –> 00:40:13,379 griefs and carried our sorrows and bore them on the cross so that drawing near 437 00:40:13,379 –> 00:40:18,639 to him the Holy Spirit may take all the good that was purchased by him and apply 438 00:40:18,639 –> 00:40:25,520 it into the deepest places of our lives as we walk that path of genuine faith 439 00:40:25,520 –> 00:40:29,979 and genuine repentance until the day when the comfort that is begun now in 440 00:40:30,800 –> 00:40:41,479 is complete and there will be no more mourning for on that day God will wipe 441 00:40:41,479 –> 00:40:51,919 all tears from our eyes Father deliver us from the trivialization of 442 00:40:51,919 –> 00:40:58,580 Christianity and lead us on to the authentic path of faith and repentance 443 00:40:58,580 –> 00:41:07,739 in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord in whose name we pray and everyone said 444 00:41:07,739 –> 00:41:09,899 together 445 00:41:11,780 –> 00:41:16,500 you’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. To 446 00:41:16,620 –> 00:41:23,179 contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website 447 00:41:23,179 –> 00:41:29,959 openthebible.org