1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,140 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,140 –> 00:00:16,620 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN 365, or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:16,620 –> 00:00:17,780 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,780 –> 00:00:19,260 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,260 –> 00:00:25,040 Blessed are those who Mourn, for they shall be comforted. 6 00:00:25,040 –> 00:00:28,379 We’ve seen that there are three kinds of mourning. 7 00:00:28,680 –> 00:00:32,299 Spiritual mourning is grieving someone or something you have lost. 8 00:00:32,299 –> 00:00:36,900 Then we saw there’s such a thing as sinful mourning, which is to grieve something that 9 00:00:36,900 –> 00:00:39,500 God never intended you to have. 10 00:00:39,500 –> 00:00:43,919 Then we saw that Jesus is referring here, not to either of these two, but to a third, 11 00:00:43,919 –> 00:00:51,000 to spiritual mourning, which we defined as grieving over your sins against God. 12 00:00:51,000 –> 00:00:56,580 What Jesus tells us here is that this mourning is blessed. 13 00:00:56,580 –> 00:01:04,160 In fact it is so laden with blessing that we are to go after as much of it as we can 14 00:01:04,160 –> 00:01:07,980 possibly get into our lives. 15 00:01:07,980 –> 00:01:15,879 The more of this mourning you know, we saw last time, the more joy you will experience. 16 00:01:15,879 –> 00:01:17,980 We saw last time something else that’s very important. 17 00:01:17,980 –> 00:01:25,120 That this spiritual mourning that Jesus is teaching us here is actually a key to overcoming 18 00:01:25,160 –> 00:01:31,120 what we sometimes call habitual sin, that is sins that we tend to go back to time and 19 00:01:31,120 –> 00:01:32,400 again. 20 00:01:32,400 –> 00:01:36,120 If you’ve read the book of Judges in the Old Testament you’ll know that there’s a sort 21 00:01:36,120 –> 00:01:40,760 of cyclical pattern that runs right the way through the book of Judges. 22 00:01:40,760 –> 00:01:46,379 It covers many generations of the experience of God’s people and once you see this cycle 23 00:01:46,379 –> 00:01:48,639 you’ll see it recurs again and again throughout the book. 24 00:01:48,639 –> 00:01:50,019 It goes like this. 25 00:01:50,019 –> 00:01:55,320 God’s people turn to idols, then God gives them over into the hands of their enemies, 26 00:01:55,320 –> 00:01:58,660 then they cry to God for mercy at the lowest point. 27 00:01:58,660 –> 00:02:02,879 God raises up a deliverer and everything is made well again and then God’s people turn 28 00:02:02,879 –> 00:02:04,099 back to idols. 29 00:02:04,099 –> 00:02:07,839 And round and around the circle goes again and again and again. 30 00:02:07,839 –> 00:02:14,440 If I was to give a sort of a pop title for the book of Judges, I’d call it how not to 31 00:02:14,440 –> 00:02:16,919 live the Christian life. 32 00:02:17,039 –> 00:02:18,440 We are turning round and round in circles. 33 00:02:18,440 –> 00:02:20,380 You know what this looks like. 34 00:02:20,380 –> 00:02:27,800 Toying with sin, falling into sin, asking Christ for forgiveness, experiencing His mercy, 35 00:02:27,800 –> 00:02:32,080 going back to toying with the same sin all over again. 36 00:02:32,080 –> 00:02:36,259 Now, how do you break that cycle? 37 00:02:36,259 –> 00:02:43,940 How do you get out of being a guy who has a faith and doesn’t really change much over 38 00:02:43,940 –> 00:02:45,899 10, 20 or even 30 years? 39 00:02:45,899 –> 00:02:52,960 This happens, we see it around us, and we may see it very much in ourselves as well. 40 00:02:52,960 –> 00:03:01,279 And we are seeing that this spiritual mourning is a key to breaking the cycles of sin that 41 00:03:01,279 –> 00:03:05,820 so easily can gain a grip in a person’s life. 42 00:03:05,820 –> 00:03:11,139 Now, that’s where we were last week in our first part of this journey in the Second Beatitude. 43 00:03:11,139 –> 00:03:14,080 Today, we move on to the question, how? 44 00:03:14,080 –> 00:03:18,300 This is the really practical question, all of today as application. 45 00:03:18,300 –> 00:03:19,699 It’s all application. 46 00:03:19,699 –> 00:03:25,820 It’s all about the question, how can I practice this spiritual mourning that’s going to be 47 00:03:25,820 –> 00:03:29,139 so blessed and lead me into so much joy? 48 00:03:29,139 –> 00:03:34,839 How can I cultivate this godly sorrow that is going to be the means of bringing blessing 49 00:03:34,839 –> 00:03:35,839 into my life? 50 00:03:35,919 –> 00:03:45,679 How can I actually break the cycles of habitual sin and go after real growth and holiness 51 00:03:45,679 –> 00:03:46,679 of life? 52 00:03:46,679 –> 00:03:51,380 I have three very simple headings, so this is easy to follow. 53 00:03:51,380 –> 00:03:55,880 It will be easy for you to take notes and you may want to do that today so you can put 54 00:03:55,880 –> 00:03:59,360 into practice what Jesus is speaking about. 55 00:03:59,360 –> 00:04:05,520 The spiritual mourning that will lead you into a great and wonderful joy. 56 00:04:05,520 –> 00:04:12,580 The three headings are simply this, how to see, how to mourn, and how to find comfort. 57 00:04:12,580 –> 00:04:16,940 How to see, how to mourn, and how to find comfort. 58 00:04:16,940 –> 00:04:19,040 So, straight away, let’s get into it here. 59 00:04:19,040 –> 00:04:21,440 How to see. 60 00:04:21,559 –> 00:04:25,440 There’s an old saying, and many of you will know it well. 61 00:04:25,440 –> 00:04:33,079 What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. 62 00:04:33,079 –> 00:04:40,399 So, little Johnny is throwing a ball against the wall and manages to crack his mother’s 63 00:04:40,399 –> 00:04:42,959 choice vase. 64 00:04:42,959 –> 00:04:43,959 And what does he do? 65 00:04:43,959 –> 00:04:49,299 He turns the crack towards the wall so that she won’t see it, and he says to himself, 66 00:04:49,299 –> 00:04:55,500 well now, what the eye doesn’t see, the heart won’t grieve over. 67 00:04:55,500 –> 00:04:59,500 Now, we’re talking about spiritual mourning. 68 00:04:59,500 –> 00:05:03,059 What the eye doesn’t see, the heart will not grieve over. 69 00:05:03,059 –> 00:05:09,579 It follows, therefore, does it not, that we only enter into spiritual mourning over sins 70 00:05:09,579 –> 00:05:12,779 that we have come to see. 71 00:05:12,779 –> 00:05:17,299 Here’s the problem folks, that by nature we don’t see very well. 72 00:05:17,299 –> 00:05:19,739 We tend to justify what we do. 73 00:05:19,739 –> 00:05:24,220 We tend to become so used to ourselves that we find it difficult to imagine ourselves 74 00:05:24,220 –> 00:05:30,079 being more holy than we actually are, which often is not very much. 75 00:05:30,079 –> 00:05:36,760 We don’t see ourselves as others see us, let alone seeing ourselves as God sees us. 76 00:05:36,760 –> 00:05:39,179 So how do you get spiritual sight? 77 00:05:39,179 –> 00:05:46,179 And the answer to that is simply that reading the Bible is like putting on a pair of spectacles 78 00:05:48,299 –> 00:05:51,739 for someone who is short-sighted. 79 00:05:51,739 –> 00:05:55,940 Through the Bible you will begin to see what God sees. 80 00:05:55,940 –> 00:06:01,179 You will begin to understand what grieves him, and what offends him. 81 00:06:01,179 –> 00:06:07,619 Reading the Bible will open your eyes to sins that you would not otherwise spot, that may 82 00:06:07,619 –> 00:06:10,940 have been lurking in your life for a long time. 83 00:06:10,940 –> 00:06:12,040 Now the Bible is full of this. 84 00:06:12,220 –> 00:06:17,079 I’m thinking for example of Psalm 19 and Verse 8, which tells us this, that 85 00:06:17,079 –> 00:06:22,720 the commandments of the Lord are pure, and they enlighten the eyes. 86 00:06:22,720 –> 00:06:25,140 They help you to see. 87 00:06:25,140 –> 00:06:27,059 This is written all over the scripture. 88 00:06:27,059 –> 00:06:29,660 It is a wonderful, wonderful gift of God. 89 00:06:29,660 –> 00:06:34,839 As you read the Bible, you are reading the words and the thoughts of God, and so you 90 00:06:34,839 –> 00:06:40,880 are able to enter in to what he sees and to grasp it for yourself. 91 00:06:42,079 –> 00:06:46,660 Now, when I was very young, and some of you will relate to this as well, as a small boy 92 00:06:46,660 –> 00:06:51,519 in a Sunday School class, I was taught to read the Bible using what in Britain was called 93 00:06:51,519 –> 00:06:54,739 the scripture union method. 94 00:06:54,739 –> 00:06:59,359 That very simply was, whenever you read the Bible, ask five questions, and this has been 95 00:06:59,359 –> 00:07:04,119 useful to me all my life, to the present day, I’ve never outgrown it, and it will be useful 96 00:07:04,119 –> 00:07:05,119 to you. 97 00:07:05,119 –> 00:07:07,200 What does this tell me about God? 98 00:07:07,200 –> 00:07:10,040 What does this tell me about myself? 99 00:07:10,040 –> 00:07:15,000 Is there a sin to avoid, a promise to believe, a command to obey? 100 00:07:15,000 –> 00:07:16,779 Very, very simple. 101 00:07:16,779 –> 00:07:19,100 What does it tell me about God? 102 00:07:19,100 –> 00:07:21,040 What does it tell me about myself? 103 00:07:21,040 –> 00:07:27,880 This passage, these verses that I’m reading today, and is there a sin for me to avoid? 104 00:07:27,880 –> 00:07:30,559 Is there a promise for me to believe? 105 00:07:30,559 –> 00:07:33,640 Is there a command for me to obey? 106 00:07:33,640 –> 00:07:38,559 These are the things to look for in the Bible, and particularly you’ll understand that, today, 107 00:07:38,559 –> 00:07:43,160 as we’re focused in on this question, as you read the Bible, always be asking, is there 108 00:07:43,160 –> 00:07:45,739 a sin here for me to avoid? 109 00:07:45,739 –> 00:07:51,380 So let me just take, for example, three verses from the Bible that will be familiar to you, 110 00:07:51,380 –> 00:07:55,640 just so that you see what I mean, and you can do this every day as you’re reading the 111 00:07:55,640 –> 00:07:58,880 Bible and it will be the means by which God opens your eyes. 112 00:07:58,880 –> 00:08:03,320 First Corinthians, chapter 13, you know these words from verse four. 113 00:08:04,200 –> 00:08:10,299 love is kind, love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist 114 00:08:10,299 –> 00:08:16,440 on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices 115 00:08:16,440 –> 00:08:17,440 with the truth. 116 00:08:17,440 –> 00:08:24,179 So I read that, but did you see that there are at least seven sins that are quite clearly 117 00:08:24,179 –> 00:08:27,359 identified right there? 118 00:08:27,359 –> 00:08:28,359 What are they? 119 00:08:28,359 –> 00:08:29,660 What are the things that grieve God? 120 00:08:29,660 –> 00:08:32,520 What are the things that are offensive to Him? 121 00:08:32,940 –> 00:08:38,239 Impatience, because love is patient. 122 00:08:38,239 –> 00:08:43,880 Envy, because love doesn’t do that, and if love is occupying my heart, I won’t be doing 123 00:08:43,880 –> 00:08:45,200 that either. 124 00:08:45,200 –> 00:08:47,700 That’s sinful. 125 00:08:47,700 –> 00:08:51,179 Pride because love is not arrogant. 126 00:08:51,179 –> 00:08:56,719 Rudeness, when I’m rude, that’s sinful. 127 00:08:57,119 –> 00:09:00,260 Eluding on your own way. 128 00:09:00,260 –> 00:09:01,700 Love does not do that. 129 00:09:01,700 –> 00:09:03,700 It is not self-seeking. 130 00:09:03,700 –> 00:09:06,580 It is not overbearing. 131 00:09:06,580 –> 00:09:11,059 So when I’m like that, I sin, and I need to see it. 132 00:09:11,059 –> 00:09:13,380 Love is not irritable. 133 00:09:13,380 –> 00:09:15,539 It is not easily provoked. 134 00:09:15,539 –> 00:09:20,820 When I’m easily provoked, I sin. 135 00:09:20,820 –> 00:09:23,479 And love is not resentful. 136 00:09:23,479 –> 00:09:24,659 What does that mean? 137 00:09:24,659 –> 00:09:32,260 Hanging on to past hurts, is offensive towards God, who forgives. 138 00:09:32,260 –> 00:09:37,239 So here I’ve just read a couple of very, very familiar verses just to illustrate how 139 00:09:37,239 –> 00:09:43,400 to read the Bible, and to ask the question as you’re reading the Bible, now what here 140 00:09:43,400 –> 00:09:44,960 is a sin that I should avoid? 141 00:09:44,960 –> 00:09:47,440 And there are three verses and there are seven straight away. 142 00:09:47,440 –> 00:09:49,239 You won’t find it hard to do this. 143 00:09:49,239 –> 00:09:52,580 You will find, wherever you’re reading in the scripture, that when you begin to read 144 00:09:52,580 –> 00:09:58,799 it with these lenses, you will find that the Spirit of God uses the word of God to 145 00:09:58,799 –> 00:10:04,239 convince you of sin, to show you where it lies. 146 00:10:04,239 –> 00:10:09,859 God’s Word will open your eyes toward sin, quite candidly. 147 00:10:09,859 –> 00:10:15,200 Guys who rarely read the Bible don’t have a Bible in their hands, don’t read it much 148 00:10:15,200 –> 00:10:19,059 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. 149 00:10:19,059 –> 00:10:22,159 Guys who don’t read the Bible don’t see very many sins in their own life. 150 00:10:22,219 –> 00:10:24,979 Their eyes are closed. 151 00:10:24,979 –> 00:10:30,799 Close the Bible and your eyes will be closed towards the sins that lurk in your own life, 152 00:10:30,799 –> 00:10:34,820 but open the Bible and start reading the Bible in this way. 153 00:10:34,820 –> 00:10:40,039 And you will find that the Lord uses it so that you begin to see. 154 00:10:40,039 –> 00:10:44,140 And that’s the first part of spiritual morning, you see, you can’t grieve over what you don’t 155 00:10:44,140 –> 00:10:45,140 see. 156 00:10:45,739 –> 00:10:50,179 It has to begin here if you are going to enter into this joy and experience this change of 157 00:10:50,179 –> 00:10:51,719 life. 158 00:10:51,719 –> 00:10:55,520 The second way in which we see is through God’s spirit. 159 00:10:55,520 –> 00:10:59,960 These are three wonderful gifts here, how to see through the gift of God’s word and 160 00:10:59,960 –> 00:11:02,320 through the gift of God’s spirit. 161 00:11:02,320 –> 00:11:05,739 Now let me give to you a very simple picture. 162 00:11:05,739 –> 00:11:09,359 Imagine that you’re walking through a dark basement. 163 00:11:09,359 –> 00:11:16,599 There are some hidden treasures in there, and there are some unopened gifts, but there 164 00:11:16,599 –> 00:11:20,080 is also all kinds of junk. 165 00:11:20,080 –> 00:11:25,200 And there are all kinds of trash. 166 00:11:25,200 –> 00:11:30,859 There’s a bad smell because some animals have got in through a broken window well and they’ve 167 00:11:30,859 –> 00:11:34,500 died there, and they’ve been lying there for a very, very long time. 168 00:11:34,500 –> 00:11:38,280 And because there’s still a break in the window well there are some living ones that are lurking 169 00:11:38,320 –> 00:11:39,500 in the corners as well. 170 00:11:39,500 –> 00:11:42,940 Have you got this rather unpleasant picture? 171 00:11:42,940 –> 00:11:46,520 And here you are, you’re beginning to go through this basement. 172 00:11:46,520 –> 00:11:55,880 And I’m telling you that that is a biblical picture of your soul. 173 00:11:55,880 –> 00:12:05,640 Now think of this darkened basement with all this stuff that’s there. 174 00:12:05,679 –> 00:12:16,719 God could show you all the junk that’s in your soul in a moment by turning on a floodlight. 175 00:12:16,719 –> 00:12:22,299 But if He were to do that, you would be completely and utterly devastated. 176 00:12:22,299 –> 00:12:26,460 You’d never recover from it. 177 00:12:26,460 –> 00:12:33,359 Not one of us here, including the one who speaks, could bear an instant sight of the 178 00:12:33,380 –> 00:12:42,599 full extent of our own sins if it was to be revealed to us on earth at one time. 179 00:12:42,599 –> 00:12:49,280 And so thank God who is gracious and kind that He does not show us our souls with a 180 00:12:49,280 –> 00:12:58,559 floodlight, but by His Holy Spirit, He leads us through the murky basement with a flashlight. 181 00:12:58,640 –> 00:13:03,719 And that, by the way, is why sanctification is a lifelong process. 182 00:13:03,719 –> 00:13:12,340 Because the Holy Spirit is always shining the flashlight into hidden corners of your 183 00:13:12,340 –> 00:13:19,700 soul, where there lurks stuff that you were not aware of before. 184 00:13:19,700 –> 00:13:22,059 Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit. 185 00:13:22,460 –> 00:13:28,679 When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin. 186 00:13:28,679 –> 00:13:33,580 And thank God he does that with a flashlight and not with the floodlight. 187 00:13:34,940 –> 00:13:42,979 Because there is more sin in all of our lives than any of us are able to see at any moment 188 00:13:42,979 –> 00:13:45,219 on the Christian journey. 189 00:13:45,219 –> 00:13:47,659 Thank God he is so patient with us. 190 00:13:47,780 –> 00:13:53,780 And that folks is why we must also be patient with one another. 191 00:13:53,780 –> 00:13:58,099 But here’s what you can do given the work of God’s Spirit. 192 00:13:58,099 –> 00:14:05,900 When the Bible identifies particular sins, we read just a list of them from a couple 193 00:14:05,900 –> 00:14:09,099 of verses a few moments ago. 194 00:14:09,320 –> 00:14:19,020 What you can then do is, you can ask the Holy Spirit to show you where these particular 195 00:14:19,020 –> 00:14:22,320 sins may actually be lurking in your life. 196 00:14:22,320 –> 00:14:25,159 In other words, you can ask Him to use the flashlight. 197 00:14:25,159 –> 00:14:30,559 So going back to 1 Corinthians 13, love does not insist on its own way. 198 00:14:30,559 –> 00:14:33,039 Oh Lord, show me! 199 00:14:33,059 –> 00:14:40,359 Help me to see if there is a place where I’ve been insisting on my own way. 200 00:14:40,359 –> 00:14:44,880 Love is not resentful. 201 00:14:44,880 –> 00:14:52,219 Holy Spirit, show me, is there a place where I’m holding on to a past hurt and resentment 202 00:14:52,219 –> 00:14:56,280 is being allowed to fester? 203 00:14:56,280 –> 00:14:57,280 Love is patient. 204 00:14:57,479 –> 00:15:03,940 O Holy Spirit, show to me, where is there impatience in my life? 205 00:15:03,940 –> 00:15:11,119 So that the Word identifies what the sins are and the spirit with the flashlight points 206 00:15:11,119 –> 00:15:15,719 to where they may hide. 207 00:15:15,719 –> 00:15:19,460 Use the prayer that’s right at the end of Psalm 139. 208 00:15:19,460 –> 00:15:21,640 Use it regularly in your own life. 209 00:15:21,640 –> 00:15:24,880 You will find it very helpful as I do. 210 00:15:25,119 –> 00:15:28,700 Search me, O God, and know my heart. 211 00:15:28,700 –> 00:15:30,140 That’s the prayer you see. 212 00:15:30,140 –> 00:15:32,580 Holy Spirit shine the flashlight. 213 00:15:32,580 –> 00:15:34,340 Not the floodlight but the flashlight. 214 00:15:34,340 –> 00:15:39,460 I want to know where there’s the stuff that needs to be brought into the open and dealt 215 00:15:39,460 –> 00:15:43,219 with even today. 216 00:15:43,219 –> 00:15:45,580 So how to see. 217 00:15:45,580 –> 00:15:50,419 We want to get into the spiritual mourning that is going to lead us on to the path of 218 00:15:50,419 –> 00:15:53,760 joy but the heart won’t grieve over what the eye does not see. 219 00:15:53,760 –> 00:16:00,260 It has to begin here by identifying particular sins and seeing where they hide out in our 220 00:16:00,260 –> 00:16:02,080 lives. 221 00:16:02,080 –> 00:16:04,900 And you do that through three gifts. 222 00:16:04,900 –> 00:16:12,340 God’s Word was number one, God’s Spirit is number two, here’s number three, God’s people. 223 00:16:12,340 –> 00:16:14,340 God’s people. 224 00:16:14,340 –> 00:16:21,400 The Bible says to us, to believers, confess your sins one to another so that you may be 225 00:16:21,400 –> 00:16:22,960 healed. 226 00:16:23,059 –> 00:16:26,239 That’s James chapter five and verse 16. 227 00:16:26,239 –> 00:16:30,919 And this may be a neglected opportunity as far as some of us are concerned, but other 228 00:16:30,919 –> 00:16:38,280 believers will be able to help you to see where you need to grow. 229 00:16:38,280 –> 00:16:44,780 That is why relationships within the body of Christ are such a special gift from God. 230 00:16:44,780 –> 00:16:48,640 So, we’re talking about practice. 231 00:16:49,539 –> 00:16:56,840 So, here is a challenge for all the men in the Congregation who would regard themselves 232 00:16:56,840 –> 00:16:59,780 as happily married. 233 00:16:59,780 –> 00:17:05,239 I have something for you to do this week, and here it is. 234 00:17:05,239 –> 00:17:17,239 Ask your wife what is one sin that I should be fighting against more strongly? 235 00:17:17,540 –> 00:17:24,239 Because the person God has placed close to you will be a help to see what you may not 236 00:17:24,239 –> 00:17:26,239 be seeing. 237 00:17:26,239 –> 00:17:33,140 Now, folks, it’s very important, as all of you know, that a preacher practices what he 238 00:17:33,319 –> 00:17:34,479 preaches. 239 00:17:34,479 –> 00:17:36,959 So, I have already done this this week. 240 00:17:36,959 –> 00:17:38,640 Let me tell you what happened. 241 00:17:38,640 –> 00:17:45,619 Karen and I were taking a long drive to Iowa where we had an appointment to speak at a 242 00:17:45,619 –> 00:17:52,420 conference over there and somewhere crossing over the Mississippi, I asked her this question. 243 00:17:52,420 –> 00:18:01,560 I said, I’m really thinking about this, and I want you to tell me what is one sin that 244 00:18:01,560 –> 00:18:07,619 I should be fighting more strongly against. 245 00:18:07,619 –> 00:18:13,099 And she thought for a little bit, and she said, can I give you two? 246 00:18:14,020 –> 00:18:18,140 And she did. 247 00:18:18,140 –> 00:18:27,040 She identified with great insight to areas where I need to grow. 248 00:18:27,040 –> 00:18:29,239 What she said was insightful. 249 00:18:29,239 –> 00:18:34,599 It has continued to be helpful to me this week. 250 00:18:34,599 –> 00:18:42,099 Ladies, if your husband musters the courage to ask you this question, don’t you bottle 251 00:18:42,439 –> 00:18:48,459 out with some kind of a statement about what a wonderful fellow he is, except that you 252 00:18:48,459 –> 00:18:49,920 wish he would fold his socks. 253 00:18:49,920 –> 00:18:53,939 That’s not what we’re after here. 254 00:18:53,939 –> 00:19:00,119 What would help him grow as a Christian, really? 255 00:19:00,119 –> 00:19:04,420 What hinders him from being more useful to God than he is, because he wants to be more 256 00:19:04,420 –> 00:19:07,339 useful to God than he is? 257 00:19:07,339 –> 00:19:12,239 And I’ll tell you, these are not easy questions to answer. 258 00:19:12,239 –> 00:19:17,959 You need spiritual light to be helpful here. 259 00:19:17,959 –> 00:19:21,880 Now if you’re not married or if your marriage is not at a point where it is the kind of 260 00:19:21,880 –> 00:19:28,520 trust to ask that kind of a question, then ask it of someone else who knows you well. 261 00:19:28,520 –> 00:19:34,839 But please find someone who can speak into your life honestly, and then listen to what 262 00:19:34,839 –> 00:19:37,859 that person has to say. 263 00:19:37,859 –> 00:19:43,339 This is great stuff for honest conversation, where relationships are beginning to go deeper 264 00:19:43,339 –> 00:19:46,579 in life groups this week. 265 00:19:46,579 –> 00:19:50,979 God did not call you to be a follower of Jesus Christ with the intent that you should be 266 00:19:50,979 –> 00:19:57,180 largely unchanged for 10, 20, 30 years in your, quote, Christian life. 267 00:19:57,180 –> 00:20:05,660 So let’s help one another to be on the growing edge of what it really means to be a follower 268 00:20:05,660 –> 00:20:06,839 of Jesus Christ. 269 00:20:06,839 –> 00:20:08,060 And it begins what? 270 00:20:08,060 –> 00:20:09,060 With seeing. 271 00:20:09,060 –> 00:20:12,560 I can’t address what I don’t see. 272 00:20:12,560 –> 00:20:17,959 So God has given me the help of his Word, I need to open it, the help of his Spirit, 273 00:20:17,959 –> 00:20:22,839 I need to call upon the Holy Spirit in prayer and the help of people who know me and who 274 00:20:23,160 –> 00:20:31,239 love me and I need to have honest and open relationships on a continuing basis with those 275 00:20:31,239 –> 00:20:36,839 God has placed strategically in my life. 276 00:20:36,839 –> 00:20:38,699 How to see. 277 00:20:38,699 –> 00:20:42,180 How to see. 278 00:20:42,199 –> 00:20:45,359 Second, how to mourn. 279 00:20:45,359 –> 00:20:50,680 The whole point of this is that we want to be able to see sins in order that we may enter 280 00:20:51,199 –> 00:20:55,880 into what Jesus is calling us to, blessed are those who mourn. 281 00:20:55,880 –> 00:20:57,839 Mourning over them. 282 00:20:57,839 –> 00:20:59,380 For they shall be comforted. 283 00:20:59,380 –> 00:21:06,760 Now the question obviously arises how then do I mourn a sin once I have seen it. 284 00:21:06,760 –> 00:21:11,520 Let me give you four answers or steps in regard to that question. 285 00:21:11,520 –> 00:21:21,640 Number one, state your sin clearly without excuse and without evasion. 286 00:21:21,640 –> 00:21:29,880 By the way, this is very important, spiritual mourning is always over particular sins. 287 00:21:29,880 –> 00:21:33,920 Sometimes the devil gets us down just with a general sense of our own failure. 288 00:21:33,920 –> 00:21:39,040 Has anyone ever experienced a struggle with just a general sense of your own failure? 289 00:21:39,199 –> 00:21:43,060 Well, that’s not spiritual mourning, it never moves you forward. 290 00:21:43,060 –> 00:21:45,959 How do you address a general sense of failure? 291 00:21:46,280 –> 00:21:50,680 The only thing you can address are particular sins, which is why seeing is so important, 292 00:21:50,680 –> 00:21:54,819 the other thing is just generally feeling miserable and there’s nothing valuable about that. 293 00:21:54,819 –> 00:22:01,699 By the way, a hypocrite is often glad to admit that he or she is a sinner. 294 00:22:03,020 –> 00:22:06,239 No problem for the hypocrites, oh yes, yes, I’m a sinner. 295 00:22:07,219 –> 00:22:13,239 But what the hypocrite never does is get down to the point of being able to name a single personal sin. 296 00:22:14,579 –> 00:22:18,520 Because, you see, then you’re at the point where, what am I going to do about it? 297 00:22:18,520 –> 00:22:24,660 The hypocrite always avoids that so he keeps at this general level and never goes further. 298 00:22:25,380 –> 00:22:29,280 So, mourning over sin in general is not what we’re talking about here, that can’t move 299 00:22:29,280 –> 00:22:31,900 you forward, it just leaves you feeling miserable. 300 00:22:31,900 –> 00:22:34,939 Spiritual mourning has a clear focus. 301 00:22:34,939 –> 00:22:39,540 It is mourning over particular sins that are brought to your attention by God’s Word, 302 00:22:39,540 –> 00:22:41,540 God’s Spirit and God’s people. 303 00:22:41,540 –> 00:22:46,579 Therefore, this process of mourning, this work of mourning sin, it begins by stating 304 00:22:46,579 –> 00:22:47,900 the sin clearly. 305 00:22:48,680 –> 00:22:50,239 I have acted out of envy. 306 00:22:50,680 –> 00:22:52,900 I have been insisting on my own way. 307 00:22:52,900 –> 00:23:01,939 I have been holding onto a resentment and this is a sin against God. 308 00:23:02,939 –> 00:23:07,619 You were to take it out of the dark place when the Holy Spirit shines the light, and 309 00:23:07,619 –> 00:23:09,900 bring it out and look at it. 310 00:23:09,900 –> 00:23:10,900 This is what it is. 311 00:23:10,900 –> 00:23:13,540 This is what has been causing the problem. 312 00:23:13,540 –> 00:23:14,479 This is it. 313 00:23:15,599 –> 00:23:17,560 Look it square in the face. 314 00:23:17,560 –> 00:23:18,680 State it clearly. 315 00:23:18,680 –> 00:23:20,180 No evasions. 316 00:23:21,119 –> 00:23:24,420 Boys, Satan will fight to keep you from doing that. 317 00:23:25,339 –> 00:23:27,300 Psalm 51, which was read for us. 318 00:23:27,300 –> 00:23:31,459 I hope you have it open in front of you, because we’ll be picking up from now on many things 319 00:23:31,500 –> 00:23:34,780 from it, because this is David going into spiritual mourning. 320 00:23:34,780 –> 00:23:36,579 Look at what he says in verse four, 321 00:23:36,579 –> 00:23:41,239 against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. 322 00:23:41,239 –> 00:23:44,439 Sure, there were others wounded by what David did, 323 00:23:44,439 –> 00:23:48,920 but at his heart, sin is an offense against God. 324 00:23:48,920 –> 00:23:53,119 And by the way there is no such thing as a small sin against a great God. 325 00:23:54,359 –> 00:23:55,439 Cannot be. 326 00:23:56,239 –> 00:24:00,619 State your sin clearly without excuse, without reservation. 327 00:24:01,760 –> 00:24:03,680 Then do this. 328 00:24:03,680 –> 00:24:09,640 Weigh what this sin has done to you. 329 00:24:09,640 –> 00:24:14,219 David says in verse three, my sin is ever before me. 330 00:24:14,219 –> 00:24:18,479 He’s looking at its effect upon his own soul. 331 00:24:19,880 –> 00:24:20,680 That’s important. 332 00:24:21,719 –> 00:24:24,979 Otherwise, you just say sorry, and then go on pretty much unchanged. 333 00:24:26,420 –> 00:24:30,660 Think about the life of holiness that God has called you to pursue. 334 00:24:32,380 –> 00:24:37,000 Think of where you might have been by now with Christ, 335 00:24:37,000 –> 00:24:39,780 if this had not been holding you back so long. 336 00:24:41,859 –> 00:24:46,140 Consider how this sin has limited your usefulness to Christ. 337 00:24:46,140 –> 00:24:51,079 Look back and take in the full scope of its effect in your life. 338 00:24:51,079 –> 00:24:53,500 That’s like pulling the thing up from the root, you see. 339 00:24:55,420 –> 00:24:58,739 Reflect on how this has dampened your worship over the years. 340 00:24:59,459 –> 00:25:03,079 Reflect on how it has dulled your testimony. 341 00:25:03,079 –> 00:25:06,979 Think about how it has kept you at a distance from God that you have 342 00:25:06,979 –> 00:25:08,719 become sort of used to. 343 00:25:10,300 –> 00:25:14,339 Think about the other sins that this one has led you into. 344 00:25:14,339 –> 00:25:17,020 Sins of deception, sins of pretense. 345 00:25:17,020 –> 00:25:22,060 Look at what this sin is costing you and total up the bill. 346 00:25:24,280 –> 00:25:26,459 Think of what your life could be 347 00:25:26,800 –> 00:25:31,280 if this sin was left behind. 348 00:25:34,140 –> 00:25:38,219 So state it clearly, name it, look it at it in the face. 349 00:25:39,859 –> 00:25:43,339 And then seriously, weigh what this sin has done to you. 350 00:25:45,660 –> 00:25:49,780 You see how this is getting us into taking the thing more seriously now 351 00:25:49,780 –> 00:25:53,780 than a quick flip, sorry, and carrying on. 352 00:25:53,780 –> 00:25:59,719 One, third, recognize what this sin has done to others. 353 00:26:01,500 –> 00:26:06,020 Friend, nobody ever sins to himself or herself alone. 354 00:26:07,699 –> 00:26:13,400 The people God has placed around you are affected by all of your sins, 355 00:26:13,400 –> 00:26:16,380 even the ones that they don’t know and may never know. 356 00:26:17,579 –> 00:26:18,239 Why? 357 00:26:19,219 –> 00:26:24,219 Because these sins have had an effect on you and you are in relation to them. 358 00:26:24,219 –> 00:26:29,640 These sins have made you less than you would have been in relation to them 359 00:26:29,640 –> 00:26:33,780 and therefore have robbed them of what they might otherwise have had from you. 360 00:26:36,180 –> 00:26:38,219 But of course, most sins are obvious. 361 00:26:39,219 –> 00:26:43,660 Many of them are evident because they are committed against other people in our 362 00:26:43,660 –> 00:26:44,099 lives. 363 00:26:44,219 –> 00:26:54,439 Our sins make us harder to live with, more difficult to work with, harder to love. 364 00:26:56,239 –> 00:27:00,900 You take an honest look at your sin, look at it’s effect on yourself, look at its 365 00:27:00,900 –> 00:27:02,160 effect on others. 366 00:27:02,160 –> 00:27:06,060 Even on others who do not know, because you’re made less by this. 367 00:27:07,900 –> 00:27:11,300 Fourth step, getting into what it means to mourn a thing, 368 00:27:11,300 –> 00:27:12,880 spiritually now. 369 00:27:13,839 –> 00:27:20,839 Consider what your sin did to Christ and what Christ has done for you. 370 00:27:23,439 –> 00:27:26,000 We sometimes sing a line in one of the songs, 371 00:27:26,000 –> 00:27:27,719 break my heart 372 00:27:27,719 –> 00:27:29,719 for what breaks yours. 373 00:27:32,400 –> 00:27:36,319 And our hearts begin to break for what breaks the heart of God, 374 00:27:36,319 –> 00:27:43,560 when we see what it did for Christ and what Christ has done for us. 375 00:27:45,619 –> 00:27:47,060 Think of this, friend. 376 00:27:47,060 –> 00:27:53,560 Jesus Christ did not hang on the cross for sin in general, 377 00:27:53,560 –> 00:27:56,339 but for sin in particular. 378 00:27:57,400 –> 00:27:59,439 How do we know that? 379 00:27:59,439 –> 00:28:01,739 Because on the cross, 380 00:28:01,739 –> 00:28:04,880 He bore the punishment of sin. 381 00:28:05,839 –> 00:28:10,520 And God being just, does not punish sin in general, 382 00:28:10,520 –> 00:28:11,459 what does He do? 383 00:28:11,459 –> 00:28:15,020 He punishes sins in particular. 384 00:28:15,900 –> 00:28:20,000 Therefore the punishment that Jesus Christ bore on the cross 385 00:28:20,000 –> 00:28:26,619 is the aggregate punishment of all of our sins of all of the people of God 386 00:28:26,619 –> 00:28:28,420 throughout all of history 387 00:28:28,420 –> 00:28:33,099 and this sin that I am mourning now that I have identified 388 00:28:33,099 –> 00:28:35,359 and I’ve seen the effect in my own life 389 00:28:35,359 –> 00:28:38,280 and I’ve seen the effect in the lives of other people as well, 390 00:28:38,280 –> 00:28:43,599 I am now to see and understand this that this sin 391 00:28:43,599 –> 00:28:50,739 played its part in what Jesus Christ suffered in agony there on the cross. 392 00:28:50,739 –> 00:28:54,400 This resentment was part of that. 393 00:28:54,400 –> 00:28:57,420 It needed dying for. 394 00:28:58,300 –> 00:29:01,280 There was a punishment for this 395 00:29:01,300 –> 00:29:06,640 that would have been upon me that was commuted to Him. 396 00:29:06,979 –> 00:29:08,900 We’ve been asking the question, friend, 397 00:29:08,900 –> 00:29:15,260 how do you break the pattern of habitual sin? 398 00:29:15,540 –> 00:29:18,739 How can you get to the place where in your heart of hearts 399 00:29:18,739 –> 00:29:23,319 you really begin to hate what you once found very attractive and loved? 400 00:29:23,579 –> 00:29:30,900 How can you get to the place where you actually despise what you once often chose? 401 00:29:31,719 –> 00:29:38,939 The answer to that is that spiritual mourning happens at the cross. 402 00:29:39,380 –> 00:29:43,880 It happens at the cross. 403 00:29:43,880 –> 00:29:47,500 Come and see. Come and see. 404 00:29:47,880 –> 00:29:51,020 Come and see the King of Love. 405 00:29:51,300 –> 00:29:57,339 See the purple robe and the crown of thorns that he wears. 406 00:29:57,339 –> 00:30:01,380 Soldiers mock, rulers sneer as he lifts the cruel cross. 407 00:30:01,380 –> 00:30:07,839 He’s lone and friendless now as he climbs towards the hill. 408 00:30:07,839 –> 00:30:18,719 Come and weep, come and mourn, for your sin that pierced him there. 409 00:30:19,599 –> 00:30:24,880 So much deeper than the wounds of thorn and of nail. 410 00:30:24,880 –> 00:30:38,939 All our pride, all our greed, all our fallenness and shame and the Lord has laid the punishment 411 00:30:38,939 –> 00:30:41,800 on him. 412 00:30:41,800 –> 00:30:48,920 We worship at your feet, where wrath and mercy meet, and a guilty world is washed by love’s 413 00:30:48,920 –> 00:30:50,199 pure stream. 414 00:30:50,199 –> 00:30:56,819 For us, he was made sin, O help me take this in! 415 00:30:56,819 –> 00:31:00,640 Deep wounds of love cry out, Father forgive. 416 00:31:00,640 –> 00:31:10,339 I worship, I worship, the Lamb who was slain. 417 00:31:11,280 –> 00:31:19,699 I’m reading at the moment the diary of Andrew Boner, a godly pastor from the 19th century 418 00:31:19,699 –> 00:31:24,599 who kept a journal of his own spiritual life. 419 00:31:24,599 –> 00:31:31,000 And he struggled, especially in his early life, over how he could come to hate sin more. 420 00:31:31,000 –> 00:31:35,479 He saw patterns within his own life that he longed to be free from. 421 00:31:35,479 –> 00:31:37,400 And he struggled over this whole question. 422 00:31:37,400 –> 00:31:39,180 Why do I go back to the same thing? 423 00:31:39,180 –> 00:31:40,239 And so forth. 424 00:31:40,239 –> 00:31:44,040 How could he make more progress in overcoming? 425 00:31:44,040 –> 00:31:55,319 And he writes this in his journal, Thursday, May 7th, 1829. 426 00:31:55,319 –> 00:32:05,619 It has been much impressed upon me that if I am to be convinced of sin at all I must 427 00:32:05,619 –> 00:32:15,280 be so by the view of it in Christ’s love. 428 00:32:15,280 –> 00:32:18,099 And Andrew Bonner’s story is very fascinating. 429 00:32:18,099 –> 00:32:21,339 There was a manifestation of the love of Christ. 430 00:32:21,339 –> 00:32:25,780 He glimpsed the love of Christ through the ministry of the word. 431 00:32:25,780 –> 00:32:31,359 He began to see in a way that he hadn’t seen before the breadth and length and depth and 432 00:32:31,420 –> 00:32:36,060 height of the love of Christ, just what Paul prays for, for you and for me and for every 433 00:32:36,060 –> 00:32:37,439 believer. 434 00:32:37,439 –> 00:32:43,699 And from that, he not only found that he began to make more progress in his Christian life. 435 00:32:43,699 –> 00:32:54,619 He found as a pastor that his life’s work was to help people turn from sin by showing 436 00:32:54,619 –> 00:32:58,739 them the love of Christ. 437 00:32:59,560 –> 00:33:05,479 Friend, when you look at the cross, there’s more to it than seeing what your sin did to 438 00:33:05,479 –> 00:33:08,079 Jesus. 439 00:33:08,079 –> 00:33:13,459 It’s also about seeing what Jesus did there for you. 440 00:33:13,459 –> 00:33:22,020 At the cross, you will see how much you are loved. 441 00:33:22,020 –> 00:33:26,339 And if you do not have an overwhelming sense of the love of God streaming towards you in 442 00:33:26,339 –> 00:33:30,400 Jesus Christ, what you need is a glimpse of the cross, and that’s where you’re going to 443 00:33:30,400 –> 00:33:32,560 see the love of Christ. 444 00:33:32,560 –> 00:33:35,920 Here you are, you’ve been sinning against God. 445 00:33:35,920 –> 00:33:38,859 And what does Jesus Christ do in relation to that sin? 446 00:33:38,859 –> 00:33:47,520 He bears it for you in love. 447 00:33:47,520 –> 00:33:55,859 One glimpse of the tru love of Jesus Christ for you will do you more good in your struggle 448 00:33:56,060 –> 00:34:00,859 against sin than a hundred commitments and a hundred disciplines. 449 00:34:00,859 –> 00:34:07,839 That’s why when we come together to worship we want to get our eyes up on Christ and for 450 00:34:07,839 –> 00:34:14,840 you to see how much you are loved because that and that alone is really going to break 451 00:34:16,120 –> 00:34:23,000 your heart over what breaks God, and that in turn is going to lead you into the joy 452 00:34:23,000 –> 00:34:24,520 that Jesus is speaking of. 453 00:34:24,520 –> 00:34:28,040 We’re blessed are those who enter into this spiritual mourning. 454 00:34:28,040 –> 00:34:33,260 They’re blessed why they experience God’s amazing comfort. 455 00:34:33,260 –> 00:34:40,040 So we’ve looked at how to see because what the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve 456 00:34:40,040 –> 00:34:40,879 over. 457 00:34:40,879 –> 00:34:47,639 We’ve looked at how to mourn very briefly hour and finally how to find comfort and again 458 00:34:47,639 –> 00:34:54,239 I want just to draw these things out from Psalm number 51 and this is all about asking 459 00:34:54,300 –> 00:34:55,379 God. 460 00:34:55,379 –> 00:34:56,879 You’ve come to see your sin. 461 00:34:56,879 –> 00:34:58,800 You’ve come to mourn over it. 462 00:34:58,800 –> 00:35:01,260 Now you’re at a place where you can really ask God. 463 00:35:01,260 –> 00:35:02,719 And what does David ask God? 464 00:35:02,719 –> 00:35:04,159 Wow here’s the first thing. 465 00:35:04,159 –> 00:35:09,199 Ask God for total forgiveness, total forgiveness. 466 00:35:09,199 –> 00:35:11,280 Notice the emphasis on completeness here. 467 00:35:11,280 –> 00:35:15,939 Verse 1 have mercy on me O God according to your Steadfast love. 468 00:35:15,939 –> 00:35:16,939 See what he’s asking. 469 00:35:16,939 –> 00:35:22,040 I’m asking for mercy that says comprehensive as your love. 470 00:35:22,439 –> 00:35:23,860 What’s the mercy of God to you? 471 00:35:23,860 –> 00:35:28,340 Verse 1 according to your abundant mercy blaught out my transgressions. 472 00:35:28,340 –> 00:35:32,639 Sins are bloughted out by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and when they are bloughted out 473 00:35:32,639 –> 00:35:38,239 they are covered, never to be seen in God’s presence again. 474 00:35:38,239 –> 00:35:42,340 Verse 9, hide your face from my sins, blaught out all my iniqueities. 475 00:35:43,219 –> 00:35:52,199 Friends, it’s not as if God forgets your sin as if he had amnesia. 476 00:35:52,699 –> 00:35:56,179 No, that’s not what the Bible tells us. 477 00:35:56,179 –> 00:35:57,199 God knows you. 478 00:35:57,199 –> 00:35:59,199 God knows everything you have done. 479 00:35:59,199 –> 00:36:04,260 That is what makes His love for us all the more remarkable isn’t it? 480 00:36:04,260 –> 00:36:09,300 But here’s what he says in his love, your sins and your iniquities I will remember no 481 00:36:09,300 –> 00:36:12,120 more. 482 00:36:12,179 –> 00:36:13,659 Does God know my sins? 483 00:36:13,659 –> 00:36:15,620 Yes, every one of them. 484 00:36:15,620 –> 00:36:20,639 Are they on his mind when I come to him in the name of Jesus Christ? 485 00:36:20,639 –> 00:36:22,840 No, they are not. 486 00:36:22,840 –> 00:36:28,300 When I come and when you come to God in the name of Jesus Christ you are to know this. 487 00:36:28,300 –> 00:36:36,479 That he is totally for you and that he is totally with you in love, without reservation, 488 00:36:36,479 –> 00:36:44,459 no matter how many times you have come before, and how many times you will come again. 489 00:36:44,459 –> 00:36:52,959 And remember friend, that we are justified by Christ’s blood not by our tears. 490 00:36:52,959 –> 00:36:57,080 Forgiveness does not flow from the depth of your sorrow. 491 00:36:57,080 –> 00:37:01,159 Forgiveness flows from the cleansing blood of Jesus. 492 00:37:01,159 –> 00:37:07,040 The question is never, have I become sorry enough to earn forgiveness? 493 00:37:07,040 –> 00:37:12,399 The question is, is the Sacrifice of Jesus enough to release forgiveness? 494 00:37:12,399 –> 00:37:16,120 And the answer to that question is yes. 495 00:37:16,120 –> 00:37:19,820 The question is not have I done enough in order to be forgiven? 496 00:37:19,820 –> 00:37:25,560 No, the question is has Christ done enough in order for me to be forgiven, and the answer 497 00:37:25,560 –> 00:37:29,520 to that question is yes. 498 00:37:29,800 –> 00:37:34,159 So ask God for total forgiveness and don’t stop there. 499 00:37:34,179 –> 00:37:37,320 Ask God for a clean heart. 500 00:37:37,320 –> 00:37:40,879 Sin not only brings guilt in the presence of God, which is why we need the shed blood 501 00:37:40,879 –> 00:37:45,919 of the Lord Jesus Christ, it also brings pollution to the heart, which is why we need the sanctifying 502 00:37:45,919 –> 00:37:48,520 work of the Holy Spirit. 503 00:37:48,520 –> 00:37:53,719 That’s why David, when he is asked for forgiveness, then goes on and he doesn’t stop there. 504 00:37:53,719 –> 00:37:59,280 He says, wash me, verse 2, from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 505 00:37:59,280 –> 00:38:03,659 Not just that you’ll cover it in your presence, but, more than that, this stuff has had effect 506 00:38:03,659 –> 00:38:08,280 in my life, in my mind, in my heart—how I think, how I feel. 507 00:38:08,280 –> 00:38:12,540 I want you to purge me, verse 7, with hyssop and I shall be clean. 508 00:38:12,540 –> 00:38:16,340 I want you, verse 10, to create in me a clean heart. 509 00:38:16,340 –> 00:38:19,479 You see the focus of that prayer. 510 00:38:19,479 –> 00:38:24,100 David knew that it was his heart that had led him into sin, and he doesn’t want to go 511 00:38:24,100 –> 00:38:27,060 down that same path again. 512 00:38:27,080 –> 00:38:30,340 And so, if he’s not going to go down that same path again, what’s going to make the 513 00:38:30,340 –> 00:38:31,340 difference? 514 00:38:31,340 –> 00:38:39,159 Oh, God, give me a changed heart, a heart that hates what I used to love and despises 515 00:38:39,159 –> 00:38:40,120 what I once chose. 516 00:38:40,120 –> 00:38:46,719 Third, ask God for a renewed spirit, a renewed spirit. 517 00:38:46,719 –> 00:38:49,360 It’s our last time that spiritual morning. 518 00:38:49,360 –> 00:38:54,879 If it’s spiritual morning, it is always marked by and infused with hope. 519 00:38:55,040 –> 00:39:00,159 One thing that you will notice is this, when you really get serious about mourning your 520 00:39:00,159 –> 00:39:07,179 sins, Satan will switch his tactics on you in a moment. 521 00:39:07,179 –> 00:39:11,060 Because as long as you’re not taking your sins seriously, he’s quite happy just to leave 522 00:39:11,060 –> 00:39:14,120 the dark basement with the door closed and all the junk still there. 523 00:39:14,120 –> 00:39:18,760 You’re not bothered about it, neither is he, because nothing’s changing. 524 00:39:18,760 –> 00:39:23,780 But the moment you’re going in there and the Holy Spirit is shining the light, well then 525 00:39:23,860 –> 00:39:25,620 Satan has to begin to switch tactics. 526 00:39:25,620 –> 00:39:27,399 And what will he do at that point? 527 00:39:27,399 –> 00:39:29,120 He’ll do something like this. 528 00:39:29,120 –> 00:39:32,399 He’ll say, look at all the junk. 529 00:39:32,399 –> 00:39:36,139 Boy, it’s more than you ever thought. 530 00:39:36,139 –> 00:39:37,899 And there ain’t any hope for you. 531 00:39:37,899 –> 00:39:42,300 I mean, look at the mess. 532 00:39:42,300 –> 00:39:49,040 When Satan tempts you to sin, he’s always saying, there’s no harm in it. 533 00:39:49,040 –> 00:39:57,280 And when you come to see your sin, he says, there’s no hope for you because of it. 534 00:39:57,280 –> 00:40:01,860 Remember he’s a liar both times. 535 00:40:01,860 –> 00:40:06,340 And when he says, you cannot overcome this, you cannot make progress, where are you going 536 00:40:06,340 –> 00:40:09,659 to go with this mess? 537 00:40:09,659 –> 00:40:15,260 You look to your Savior, Jesus Christ, and remember that who holds the light that has 538 00:40:15,300 –> 00:40:17,860 just shown this to you? 539 00:40:17,860 –> 00:40:20,860 The Holy Spirit of God who is that your right hand. 540 00:40:20,860 –> 00:40:27,100 And that’s why David, you see, prays about his spirit, restore to me the joy of my salvation 541 00:40:27,100 –> 00:40:30,040 and uphold me with a willing spirit. 542 00:40:30,040 –> 00:40:32,439 Don’t let me be crushed by this, oh God. 543 00:40:32,439 –> 00:40:34,780 It’s a good prayer. 544 00:40:34,780 –> 00:40:39,560 Verse 11, cast me not away from your presence, don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 545 00:40:39,580 –> 00:40:47,239 Verse eight, let me hear joy and gladness and let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 546 00:40:47,239 –> 00:40:49,520 So ask God. 547 00:40:49,520 –> 00:40:52,600 Ask God for total forgiveness, for a clean heart. 548 00:40:52,600 –> 00:40:56,219 Watch out for the snares of Satan who just wants you to be crushed. 549 00:40:56,219 –> 00:40:58,120 No, give me a willing spirit. 550 00:40:58,120 –> 00:40:59,600 Renew my spirit. 551 00:40:59,600 –> 00:41:04,600 And then here’s the very last thing, ask God for a useful life. 552 00:41:04,620 –> 00:41:12,919 The Bible tells us that God works for good in all things for those who love him. 553 00:41:12,919 –> 00:41:18,280 Now, all things in which God works for good has to include therefore your sins and your 554 00:41:18,280 –> 00:41:20,060 failures. 555 00:41:20,060 –> 00:41:23,719 And you may just find that God’s greatest work in your life begins from the point of 556 00:41:23,719 –> 00:41:26,280 your greatest failure. 557 00:41:26,280 –> 00:41:32,040 Satan tempted you and wanted to destroy you through it, but God can use it for your everlasting 558 00:41:32,040 –> 00:41:33,040 good. 559 00:41:33,040 –> 00:41:40,239 That’s what redeeming love looks like, and it’s focused to a point at the cross. 560 00:41:40,239 –> 00:41:43,419 So don’t waste your failure. 561 00:41:43,419 –> 00:41:45,060 Don’t waste your sin. 562 00:41:45,060 –> 00:41:48,360 You say what good can come out of it? 563 00:41:48,360 –> 00:41:50,840 Verse 13, genuine testimony. 564 00:41:50,840 –> 00:41:55,540 I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 565 00:41:55,540 –> 00:41:59,620 When you see the grace of God in your own life, you are going to have something to share 566 00:41:59,620 –> 00:42:02,000 with others. 567 00:42:02,000 –> 00:42:09,280 And heartfelt worship, verse 15, oh, God, open my lips, and my mouth will speak forth 568 00:42:09,280 –> 00:42:10,620 Your praise. 569 00:42:10,620 –> 00:42:18,520 The one who has been forgiven much loves much. 570 00:42:18,520 –> 00:42:26,120 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 571 00:42:26,120 –> 00:42:29,760 The end of our journey through the First Beatitude, we said Christians are people who know they’re 572 00:42:30,020 –> 00:42:36,100 own poverty, poor in spirit, they look to Jesus for what they do not have, and they 573 00:42:36,100 –> 00:42:39,399 know that in Him they have all that they need. 574 00:42:39,399 –> 00:42:47,159 And as we conclude our reflection on this Second Beatitude, I summarize it here, Christians 575 00:42:47,159 –> 00:42:55,320 are people who know their own sin, they look to Jesus Christ for mercy, and they find joy 576 00:42:55,320 –> 00:42:58,280 in pursuing a holy life. 577 00:42:59,120 –> 00:43:00,659 Is that you? 578 00:43:02,040 –> 00:43:04,219 Let’s pray together, shall we? 579 00:43:05,399 –> 00:43:18,919 Father in heaven, teach us, we pray, the spiritual morning in which a life is changed and joy 580 00:43:19,000 –> 00:43:31,199 is found, that we may pursue it all our days until every tear is wiped from our eyes and 581 00:43:31,199 –> 00:43:40,620 there is no more mourning because there is no more sin and you have made all things new 582 00:43:40,620 –> 00:43:45,580 through your son Jesus Christ in whose name we pray and everyone together said. 583 00:43:45,760 –> 00:43:52,239 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Collin Smith of Open the Bible. 584 00:43:52,239 –> 00:44:02,040 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org