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 –> 00:00:15,180 To contact us, call us at 1-877-open-365 or visit our web site openthebible.org. 3 00:00:15,180 –> 00:00:17,799 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,799 –> 00:00:19,559 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,559 –> 00:00:25,520 It is a joy to be beginning a new series for four weeks that we’re going to share together 6 00:00:25,520 –> 00:00:28,020 in the book of Lamentations. 7 00:00:28,340 –> 00:00:31,860 The new series is called very simply, For All Who Grieve. 8 00:00:31,860 –> 00:00:38,720 I want to speak especially to those who know and are familiar with the path of grief, sorrow 9 00:00:38,720 –> 00:00:45,419 and loss, and at some point in life, that will be every one of us, every single one 10 00:00:45,419 –> 00:00:46,779 of us. 11 00:00:46,779 –> 00:00:51,380 Let me begin with a simple description from Dr. Jim Packer who says this. 12 00:00:51,520 –> 00:00:59,639 Grief, he says, is the inward decelation that follows from losing something or someone we 13 00:00:59,639 –> 00:01:01,740 loved. 14 00:01:01,740 –> 00:01:08,580 And the something or the someone that we loved, he then goes on to say, it may be a child, 15 00:01:08,580 –> 00:01:14,580 maybe a relative, it may be an actual or an anticipated life partner. 16 00:01:14,580 –> 00:01:18,940 Says it may be a pet, maybe a job. 17 00:01:18,940 –> 00:01:21,160 It may be one’s home. 18 00:01:21,160 –> 00:01:23,540 It may be one’s hopes. 19 00:01:23,540 –> 00:01:26,639 It may be one’s health or whatever. 20 00:01:26,639 –> 00:01:31,699 Now I begin there because I want to find as many ways as possible for each of us, in whatever 21 00:01:31,699 –> 00:01:38,919 circumstance of life we are in, to be able to connect with this very, very important 22 00:01:38,919 –> 00:01:40,879 book of lamentations. 23 00:01:40,879 –> 00:01:47,760 The key words in what Dr. Packer so wisely says are, love and loss. 24 00:01:47,820 –> 00:01:53,760 Something or someone dearly loved, and then lost. 25 00:01:53,760 –> 00:02:01,400 Grief is very simply the process of adapting to the loss of something or of someone that 26 00:02:01,400 –> 00:02:03,099 we loved. 27 00:02:03,099 –> 00:02:10,160 Now we often speak about a person who loses a loved one as being bereaved. 28 00:02:10,160 –> 00:02:13,020 I’d never thought about this before until I looked at the word. 29 00:02:13,160 –> 00:02:17,020 But actually it’s made up of two words, be 30 00:02:17,020 –> 00:02:19,039 wreathed. 31 00:02:19,039 –> 00:02:26,619 And the word wreathed is an old English word that means this, to be robbed, to be plundered, 32 00:02:26,619 –> 00:02:30,779 or to have something torn away, wreathed. 33 00:02:30,779 –> 00:02:37,619 So one who is bereaved, feels that they’ve been robbed. 34 00:02:37,619 –> 00:02:41,720 They feel that they have been plundered as something that is dearly loved, or someone 35 00:02:41,720 –> 00:02:44,059 who is dearly loved has been taken away. 36 00:02:44,059 –> 00:02:51,740 And so the experience, the reaving experience, often feels like being torn apart in two. 37 00:02:51,740 –> 00:02:58,820 Now, all of us, of course, walk through this valley of grief and loss at some time and 38 00:02:58,820 –> 00:03:00,919 in some different ways. 39 00:03:00,919 –> 00:03:07,500 And I think therefore that it is very, very significant that God in his great kindness 40 00:03:07,580 –> 00:03:16,860 has given us an entire book of the Bible that is addressed to the subject of grief. 41 00:03:16,860 –> 00:03:24,419 An entire book of the Bible that properly understood will help us navigate the valley 42 00:03:24,419 –> 00:03:28,020 of grief, the valley of sorrow, the valley of loss when we come to it. 43 00:03:28,020 –> 00:03:34,940 That book, of course, is the book of lamentations and it is a book that, candidly, is not often 44 00:03:35,139 –> 00:03:37,960 preached in all of my years as a pastor. 45 00:03:37,960 –> 00:03:41,720 I have never once preached a series. 46 00:03:41,720 –> 00:03:46,639 I preached a couple of individual messages, but I’ve never once preached a series on 47 00:03:46,639 –> 00:03:53,639 this book of the Bible, and I came to a place of saying why in the world not? 48 00:03:54,639 –> 00:04:03,399 especially given that this book speaks to something that every member of the congregation 49 00:04:03,399 –> 00:04:09,440 at some time and perhaps in multiple ways will experience as we walk through the valley 50 00:04:09,440 –> 00:04:12,399 of sorrow and of loss. 51 00:04:12,399 –> 00:04:17,779 It’s a remarkable thing when we take the Bible in our hands, God’s Word in its fullness 52 00:04:17,779 –> 00:04:21,059 speaks to every part of our lives. 53 00:04:22,000 –> 00:04:29,459 If we miss any part of what God has said to us, then we end up missing on the provision 54 00:04:29,459 –> 00:04:34,119 that God Himself has made in that particular part of Scripture. 55 00:04:34,959 –> 00:04:41,959 Now, I want you to know that I began meditating on lamentations towards the end of last year. 56 00:04:41,959 –> 00:04:48,320 During these weeks, Karin and I had the great privilege of meeting with several couples 57 00:04:48,459 –> 00:04:52,559 in the church over a period of about five weeks. 58 00:04:52,559 –> 00:04:59,059 All of them had experienced the loss of a child, and in the group also were three young 59 00:04:59,059 –> 00:05:03,500 women who had experienced the loss of a brother. 60 00:05:03,500 –> 00:05:09,660 These dear friends were representative of many, many, many more stories 61 00:05:09,660 –> 00:05:13,019 that are here in this congregation. 62 00:05:13,079 –> 00:05:18,140 How many of you who have experienced the loss of a child, the loss of a spouse, 63 00:05:18,140 –> 00:05:23,179 the loss of a parent, the loss of a sibling? 64 00:05:23,179 –> 00:05:31,040 I have to tell you that listening to the stories of these dear friends and the sharing of the 65 00:05:31,040 –> 00:05:38,019 insights that they brought into the conversation that we had loosely around the book of Lamentations 66 00:05:38,059 –> 00:05:42,040 has been immensely, immensely helpful to me. 67 00:05:42,040 –> 00:05:46,920 And you will find in this series me alluding to some of these insights that I hope and 68 00:05:46,920 –> 00:05:50,000 pray will be helpful for us all. 69 00:05:50,000 –> 00:05:54,679 I want just as we get into this, and before we come to the scriptures themselves, just 70 00:05:54,679 –> 00:06:00,119 to set out three aims that I have in mind for these four weeks that we share together. 71 00:06:00,119 –> 00:06:01,640 And there are three aims. 72 00:06:01,640 –> 00:06:08,640 The first is that we will better understand what it is to grieve and to hope. 73 00:06:08,640 –> 00:06:12,299 It’s a very simple but important question. 74 00:06:12,299 –> 00:06:15,519 What does it mean to grieve? 75 00:06:15,519 –> 00:06:20,440 Now you will have heard as I have heard people saying, looking back on a loss perhaps from 76 00:06:20,440 –> 00:06:21,440 some years ago. 77 00:06:21,440 –> 00:06:27,839 They may say, you know, I don’t think I ever really grieved properly. 78 00:06:27,839 –> 00:06:31,339 Well, what does it mean? 79 00:06:31,459 –> 00:06:35,239 To grieve properly. 80 00:06:35,239 –> 00:06:39,839 What does it mean to hope when you grieve? 81 00:06:39,839 –> 00:06:45,140 See, it’s not that Christians grieve for a little while and then just become full of 82 00:06:45,140 –> 00:06:48,079 smiles and hope for the rest of their lives. 83 00:06:48,079 –> 00:06:49,880 It’s not like that at all. 84 00:06:49,880 –> 00:06:54,559 Christians grieve and hope at the same time. 85 00:06:54,799 –> 00:07:01,079 We grieve while we hope, and we hope while we grieve. 86 00:07:01,820 –> 00:07:05,600 I want us to see from Lamentations what that looks like, because it’s all through this 87 00:07:05,600 –> 00:07:08,519 remarkable and extraordinary book. 88 00:07:08,519 –> 00:07:14,579 Second, objective is for all of us, I want us to be better equipped to live and to serve 89 00:07:14,579 –> 00:07:15,760 in a suffering world. 90 00:07:15,760 –> 00:07:21,679 I want us to be better in terms of our own ability to come alongside those who grieve 91 00:07:21,799 –> 00:07:27,079 and to minister in a world of grief, and of suffering, and of loss. 92 00:07:27,079 –> 00:07:31,559 You know, we don’t come to church in order to escape reality. 93 00:07:31,559 –> 00:07:34,019 Folks who don’t believe often have that conviction. 94 00:07:34,019 –> 00:07:35,779 Oh yeah, yeah, of course people don’t go to church. 95 00:07:35,779 –> 00:07:38,940 They’re just in, you know, it’s a sort of escapist fantasy. 96 00:07:38,940 –> 00:07:43,359 We don’t come to church to escape reality. 97 00:07:43,359 –> 00:07:49,640 We come to church in order to face reality in the strength of the Lord who feeds us and 98 00:07:49,679 –> 00:07:57,000 nourishes us through his Word and God speaks to our world as it is. 99 00:07:57,000 –> 00:08:01,839 He doesn’t speak to life as you and I might like it to be. 100 00:08:01,839 –> 00:08:06,079 He speaks to our world as it is. 101 00:08:06,079 –> 00:08:10,600 And the scriptures are given to us not only to prepare us for the wonderful world where 102 00:08:10,600 –> 00:08:13,399 grief and tears and sorrow will be no more. 103 00:08:13,399 –> 00:08:18,660 The scripture is given to us in order to enable us to stand in this world where there are 104 00:08:18,660 –> 00:08:26,679 many tears and grief and heartbreak and the experience even of being riven, of being reeved, 105 00:08:26,679 –> 00:08:31,279 of being torn apart. 106 00:08:31,279 –> 00:08:34,539 One writer describes the book of Lamentations as, 107 00:08:34,539 –> 00:08:39,440 a house for sorrow and a school for compassion. 108 00:08:39,440 –> 00:08:46,500 In other words, here’s a place where you can learn to have a tender heart. 109 00:08:46,500 –> 00:08:48,619 And we all want more of that in our lives, don’t we? 110 00:08:48,619 –> 00:08:54,020 We want to know more of what it is to weep with those who weep and to be able to minister 111 00:08:54,020 –> 00:08:59,080 in a world of great suffering and great sorrow and great desolation and 112 00:08:59,080 –> 00:09:03,059 lamentations surely ministers to us in this way. 113 00:09:03,059 –> 00:09:06,500 So we want to better understand what it means to grieve and to hope 114 00:09:06,500 –> 00:09:09,020 and how you do the two together. 115 00:09:09,020 –> 00:09:13,039 We want to be better equipped to live and to serve in a suffering world. 116 00:09:13,039 –> 00:09:15,619 And here’s the third aim for this series, 117 00:09:15,659 –> 00:09:20,460 that we will meet Jesus Christ on the path of sorrow, 118 00:09:20,479 –> 00:09:26,719 that we will meet Jesus Christ on the path of sorrow. 119 00:09:26,719 –> 00:09:32,460 The path of sorrow is a difficult and a painful path, 120 00:09:32,460 –> 00:09:36,559 but it is a path with which Jesus Christ Himself is familiar. 121 00:09:36,559 –> 00:09:39,380 He is familiar with suffering, he’s the man of 122 00:09:39,380 –> 00:09:43,119 Sorrows acquainted with grief, 123 00:09:43,119 –> 00:09:51,000 but it will be a path therefore in which many discover a closer and a deeper walk with Jesus 124 00:09:51,020 –> 00:09:53,239 Christ. 125 00:09:53,239 –> 00:09:54,520 And you know what? 126 00:09:54,520 –> 00:09:59,900 Any path in which you find a deeper, closer walk with 127 00:09:59,900 –> 00:10:05,119 Jesus Christ is a path that is blessed, even if it 128 00:10:05,119 –> 00:10:09,460 is a path of grief and sorrow and loss. 129 00:10:09,460 –> 00:10:11,760 And so, these are the things I am praying for, 130 00:10:11,760 –> 00:10:14,960 that especially those who are walking this path will find 131 00:10:14,960 –> 00:10:18,460 that there is a true meeting with Jesus Christ 132 00:10:18,460 –> 00:10:24,960 and a help and a comfort that comes from our wonderful Saviour. 133 00:10:24,960 –> 00:10:27,979 Now let me then very briefly just sketch in for you 134 00:10:27,979 –> 00:10:31,679 the background to the book of Lamentations. 135 00:10:31,679 –> 00:10:36,380 Lamentations, very simply, describes and it does it 136 00:10:36,380 –> 00:10:40,919 in excruciating detail, it is not an easy book to read. 137 00:10:41,020 –> 00:10:44,520 It describes in excruciating detail the grief 138 00:10:44,520 –> 00:10:49,520 and the sorrow that resulted from the siege 139 00:10:50,020 –> 00:10:53,520 and eventually the fall, the collapse of the city 140 00:10:53,520 –> 00:10:58,719 of Jerusalem, the city of God, in the year 586 BC, 141 00:10:58,719 –> 00:11:03,119 586 years before our Lord Jesus Christ was born. 142 00:11:03,119 –> 00:11:07,840 It’s called Lamentations because it is a lament, 143 00:11:07,940 –> 00:11:12,679 it is a crying out from pain from people 144 00:11:12,679 –> 00:11:16,359 who had survived unspeakable loss. 145 00:11:17,599 –> 00:11:21,859 Lamentations is a cry from the darkest place 146 00:11:24,039 –> 00:11:27,039 when the city of Jerusalem bombarded 147 00:11:27,039 –> 00:11:32,039 after a long siege, collapsed in a heap of ruins. 148 00:11:32,559 –> 00:11:34,840 In fact, if you can try and picture this, 149 00:11:34,840 –> 00:11:37,700 God’s people, and it was God’s people, 150 00:11:38,599 –> 00:11:42,619 they suffered five disasters one on top of another, 151 00:11:42,619 –> 00:11:44,940 so you have to get the cumulative sense 152 00:11:44,940 –> 00:11:46,159 of what these people suffered. 153 00:11:46,159 –> 00:11:50,080 Number one, their enemies laid siege to the city 154 00:11:50,080 –> 00:11:51,760 and they just camped outside there 155 00:11:51,760 –> 00:11:54,799 so there was no water coming in, no food coming in. 156 00:11:54,799 –> 00:11:58,239 We’re just gonna sit and wait until we starve them to death. 157 00:12:00,320 –> 00:12:04,200 Much of what is described here relates to the agonies 158 00:12:04,239 –> 00:12:07,200 of enduring with children 159 00:12:08,080 –> 00:12:10,359 that kind of a horrendous scenario. 160 00:12:11,239 –> 00:12:14,580 Then the people starved. 161 00:12:14,580 –> 00:12:16,599 Some of the descriptions in the book 162 00:12:16,599 –> 00:12:20,320 of the horrors of living through a siege 163 00:12:20,320 –> 00:12:23,539 are more really than you ever want to read 164 00:12:23,539 –> 00:12:25,799 or know of what this is like. 165 00:12:27,380 –> 00:12:30,640 Finally, the city fell and, of course, 166 00:12:30,640 –> 00:12:32,059 when the walls were breached, 167 00:12:32,059 –> 00:12:34,460 the gates collapsed and so forth. 168 00:12:34,460 –> 00:12:36,840 That which had made the people feel 169 00:12:36,840 –> 00:12:40,219 at least in some degree safe from their enemies was gone 170 00:12:40,219 –> 00:12:43,659 and so now there was the sense of being completely overrun 171 00:12:43,659 –> 00:12:47,140 and therefore, as a result, the city was occupied. 172 00:12:47,979 –> 00:12:49,900 Fourth disaster. 173 00:12:49,900 –> 00:12:52,679 Now there is food coming in, now there is water coming in, 174 00:12:52,679 –> 00:12:54,719 but now they’re living under the brutal 175 00:12:54,719 –> 00:12:58,020 and totalitarian rule of those who smashed the gates 176 00:12:58,020 –> 00:13:01,140 and smashed the walls and destroyed their homes 177 00:13:01,739 –> 00:13:04,000 and now they’ve become slaves. 178 00:13:05,340 –> 00:13:08,320 And then perhaps to people of faith 179 00:13:08,320 –> 00:13:11,280 the most poignant of all, the temple itself was destroyed, 180 00:13:11,280 –> 00:13:13,659 right in the center of Jerusalem there. 181 00:13:13,659 –> 00:13:15,340 And remember that in the Old Testament 182 00:13:15,340 –> 00:13:18,099 the temple was the place where God said my presence 183 00:13:18,099 –> 00:13:20,380 will come down, this is where I will meet you 184 00:13:20,380 –> 00:13:23,440 and now the place of God’s presence is destroyed. 185 00:13:23,440 –> 00:13:27,539 So it raises the question, where in the world is God 186 00:13:27,539 –> 00:13:29,260 in the middle of all of this? 187 00:13:29,260 –> 00:13:30,880 Even the temple’s gone. 188 00:13:31,539 –> 00:13:34,460 And here are people who feel utterly alone, 189 00:13:34,460 –> 00:13:39,059 utterly bereft, bereaved, torn apart. 190 00:13:40,479 –> 00:13:44,380 Now many of course died in these awful days, 191 00:13:44,380 –> 00:13:46,219 then many more and you’ll find reference 192 00:13:46,219 –> 00:13:48,559 to this in the book were taken away, 193 00:13:48,559 –> 00:13:51,520 the conquering power creamed off 194 00:13:51,520 –> 00:13:53,460 as it were the people they wanted 195 00:13:53,460 –> 00:13:55,900 and left the rest behind. 196 00:13:55,900 –> 00:13:59,700 So some people like Daniel went off into exile 197 00:13:59,760 –> 00:14:01,260 and that’s where you get the story of the book 198 00:14:01,260 –> 00:14:04,020 of Daniel and the Prophet Ezekiel 199 00:14:04,020 –> 00:14:07,500 was a prophet who was taken off into the exile, 200 00:14:07,500 –> 00:14:12,599 but Lamentations is the cry of those who remained, 201 00:14:13,559 –> 00:14:17,739 the survivors who remained in the ruins 202 00:14:17,739 –> 00:14:21,000 and with all of their loss had to find a way 203 00:14:21,000 –> 00:14:25,260 of rebuilding a life out of the rubble 204 00:14:25,260 –> 00:14:26,900 of all that had been destroyed 205 00:14:26,900 –> 00:14:29,059 in the place that they had once called. 206 00:14:29,739 –> 00:14:30,580 Home. 207 00:14:31,460 –> 00:14:34,140 Now what you will find in these five chapters, 208 00:14:34,140 –> 00:14:35,659 if you read through the entire book, 209 00:14:35,659 –> 00:14:39,559 you will find that it is very, very repetitive. 210 00:14:39,559 –> 00:14:41,320 That’s one of the reasons why we’re not going to go 211 00:14:41,320 –> 00:14:42,559 through it verse by verse, 212 00:14:42,559 –> 00:14:46,619 because this is what grief is like, 213 00:14:46,619 –> 00:14:51,619 grief is not linear, grief is repetitive. 214 00:14:51,780 –> 00:14:53,719 A grieving person knows what it is, 215 00:14:53,719 –> 00:14:56,340 to go over and over and over again, 216 00:14:56,340 –> 00:14:59,500 the same thing, the same story, 217 00:14:59,500 –> 00:15:03,539 the same pain and that’s exactly what we find 218 00:15:03,539 –> 00:15:05,919 here in the Book of Lamentations, 219 00:15:05,919 –> 00:15:07,340 and so what I want to do, 220 00:15:07,340 –> 00:15:12,340 is to try and draw out four main themes from this book. 221 00:15:12,619 –> 00:15:13,940 We will work our way through it, 222 00:15:13,940 –> 00:15:16,719 but we will find four interconnected themes, 223 00:15:16,719 –> 00:15:20,840 the first today is going to be tears and talk. 224 00:15:20,840 –> 00:15:23,700 The next week, guilt and grievance, 225 00:15:23,700 –> 00:15:25,299 there’s always guilt and grievance 226 00:15:25,299 –> 00:15:27,979 mixed in with sorrow and loss. 227 00:15:27,979 –> 00:15:32,520 Then hope and healing and then lastly prayer and praise, 228 00:15:32,520 –> 00:15:37,280 all of these themes from the Book of Lamentations. 229 00:15:37,280 –> 00:15:40,919 Now we begin today then with tears and talk, 230 00:15:42,059 –> 00:15:45,820 and I took that title from a story 231 00:15:45,820 –> 00:15:49,039 that is told by Leslie Allen, 232 00:15:49,039 –> 00:15:54,000 who I know because he was the professor of Old Testament 233 00:15:54,000 –> 00:15:56,700 when I was a student in London, 234 00:15:56,760 –> 00:15:59,619 then went on to become the Senior Professor 235 00:15:59,619 –> 00:16:03,400 of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, 236 00:16:03,400 –> 00:16:05,020 but here’s something very fascinating, 237 00:16:05,020 –> 00:16:09,940 while serving as a Senior Professor of Old Testament, 238 00:16:09,940 –> 00:16:14,700 he has also for 10 years at the same time 239 00:16:14,700 –> 00:16:17,119 served as a hospital chaplain. 240 00:16:17,119 –> 00:16:19,700 Isn’t that a remarkable combination? 241 00:16:19,700 –> 00:16:22,340 And he wrote, and this was one of the things 242 00:16:22,340 –> 00:16:25,239 that got me going on the Book of Lamentations, 243 00:16:25,280 –> 00:16:28,299 he wrote a very fascinating and helpful book 244 00:16:28,299 –> 00:16:33,119 in which, basically, he uses all that he has learned 245 00:16:33,119 –> 00:16:36,960 as an Old Testament professor from the Book of Lamentations 246 00:16:36,960 –> 00:16:39,780 to shine a light on the subject of grief. 247 00:16:40,679 –> 00:16:43,200 And then he uses everything that he’s learned 248 00:16:43,200 –> 00:16:45,520 from his experience as a hospital chaplain 249 00:16:45,520 –> 00:16:48,400 about grief to shine a light back 250 00:16:48,400 –> 00:16:50,960 on the Book of Lamentations. 251 00:16:52,359 –> 00:16:54,479 And he begins with the story of a young man 252 00:16:54,520 –> 00:16:56,419 by the name of Raymond, 253 00:16:56,419 –> 00:17:00,659 who was brought into the hospital where Leslie serves 254 00:17:00,659 –> 00:17:04,660 late one evening, as a precaution against suicide. 255 00:17:06,079 –> 00:17:10,760 Raymond was a Christian, he was a man in his early 20s, 256 00:17:12,160 –> 00:17:14,479 he was committed to church, 257 00:17:14,479 –> 00:17:17,319 he was active in leadership of the youth group. 258 00:17:18,439 –> 00:17:22,439 But he had gone through a series of tragedies 259 00:17:22,540 –> 00:17:25,540 that had cumulatively overwhelmed him, 260 00:17:25,540 –> 00:17:27,939 and that was why he was admitted to the hospital. 261 00:17:29,000 –> 00:17:32,680 He had lost his father, and then just a very few weeks later 262 00:17:32,680 –> 00:17:34,819 his mother had also died. 263 00:17:35,800 –> 00:17:37,599 And then just a month after that, 264 00:17:37,599 –> 00:17:42,599 his girlfriend had died of an overdose of drugs. 265 00:17:43,959 –> 00:17:46,760 And the chaplain of course was called for. 266 00:17:47,760 –> 00:17:50,619 And Leslie Ellin says, when I arrived 267 00:17:50,619 –> 00:17:54,199 I gently woke Raymond out of an exhausted sleep. 268 00:17:55,140 –> 00:17:59,500 Bleary-eyed, no doubt he was sedated at the time, too. 269 00:17:59,500 –> 00:18:03,599 Bleary-eyed, he sat up in bed, and he said, 270 00:18:03,599 –> 00:18:05,339 all I want to do is sleep. 271 00:18:06,619 –> 00:18:10,020 Leslie says, I realized that this was not the occasion 272 00:18:10,020 –> 00:18:12,979 for a long pastoral interchange. 273 00:18:14,140 –> 00:18:17,219 What short message could I leave this man 274 00:18:17,219 –> 00:18:18,640 about the way forward? 275 00:18:19,479 –> 00:18:21,380 I thought for a moment and I said, 276 00:18:21,380 –> 00:18:24,819 I want to leave three words with you, Raymond. 277 00:18:25,939 –> 00:18:30,760 Tears, talk, and time. 278 00:18:32,420 –> 00:18:35,319 I added a brief sentence to each word 279 00:18:35,319 –> 00:18:37,479 and then told him to go back to sleep 280 00:18:37,479 –> 00:18:41,880 and to remember these three words when he woke up. 281 00:18:43,079 –> 00:18:47,479 Tears, talk and time. 282 00:18:49,640 –> 00:18:52,000 Let’s think about tears. 283 00:18:52,000 –> 00:18:53,560 And from the book of Lamentations 284 00:18:53,560 –> 00:18:56,699 I want to say this to you, let them flow. 285 00:18:57,560 –> 00:19:01,319 Tears are very simply the shuddering of the body 286 00:19:01,319 –> 00:19:04,300 at the pain of the soul. 287 00:19:04,300 –> 00:19:07,500 Tears are a wonderful gift from God. 288 00:19:07,500 –> 00:19:12,500 He gave each of us those tear ducts for a reason. 289 00:19:12,599 –> 00:19:15,219 They are, for us, a release valve 290 00:19:15,219 –> 00:19:18,479 for pressure that otherwise may overwhelm us 291 00:19:18,479 –> 00:19:20,520 in our hearts and in our minds. 292 00:19:20,520 –> 00:19:22,900 So the scripture makes clear to us, 293 00:19:22,900 –> 00:19:24,339 as I will show you now, 294 00:19:24,339 –> 00:19:29,339 let the tears flow and don’t hold them back. 295 00:19:29,400 –> 00:19:32,040 Lamentations perhaps more than anything else 296 00:19:32,040 –> 00:19:34,800 is a book soaked in tears. 297 00:19:34,800 –> 00:19:36,400 So let me give you some examples. 298 00:19:36,400 –> 00:19:39,500 I’m going to quote seven scriptures from Lamentations. 299 00:19:39,500 –> 00:19:41,680 If you want to take down the references, do that, 300 00:19:41,680 –> 00:19:44,300 they will move quickly so you perhaps won’t be able 301 00:19:44,300 –> 00:19:45,760 to write down all the words. 302 00:19:45,760 –> 00:19:47,319 But you can pick up the references. 303 00:19:47,380 –> 00:19:51,420 The first is from Lamentations, chapter one and verse two, 304 00:19:51,420 –> 00:19:52,760 where we read this. 305 00:19:52,760 –> 00:19:56,479 She weeps bitterly in the night. 306 00:19:56,479 –> 00:19:58,739 Oh, it’s always harder in the night, isn’t it? 307 00:19:59,839 –> 00:20:02,459 With tears on her cheeks. 308 00:20:03,319 –> 00:20:05,319 Or chapter one and verse 16. 309 00:20:06,199 –> 00:20:09,339 For these things I weep. 310 00:20:09,339 –> 00:20:11,400 My eyes flow with tears 311 00:20:11,400 –> 00:20:14,540 for a comforter is far from me. 312 00:20:15,400 –> 00:20:17,579 Or chapter two and verse 11. 313 00:20:17,579 –> 00:20:22,000 My eyes are spent with weeping. 314 00:20:23,040 –> 00:20:26,219 Or chapter three and verse 48. 315 00:20:26,219 –> 00:20:30,599 My eyes flow with rivers of tears 316 00:20:30,599 –> 00:20:34,660 because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 317 00:20:35,619 –> 00:20:38,520 Or chapter three and verse 49. 318 00:20:38,520 –> 00:20:42,500 My eyes will flow without ceasing, 319 00:20:42,619 –> 00:20:46,900 without respite until the Lord from Heaven 320 00:20:46,900 –> 00:20:49,760 looks down and sees. 321 00:20:51,560 –> 00:20:53,079 Now I want you to notice this, 322 00:20:53,079 –> 00:20:56,839 that the tears run throughout the book. 323 00:20:56,839 –> 00:20:57,959 They’re not in chapter one 324 00:20:57,959 –> 00:20:59,839 and then they dry up and go away. 325 00:21:01,000 –> 00:21:02,520 The tears run throughout the book 326 00:21:02,520 –> 00:21:04,420 and that reminds us of something 327 00:21:04,420 –> 00:21:06,540 that the friends who gathered in our home 328 00:21:06,540 –> 00:21:10,140 on these evenings brought very clearly to my attention. 329 00:21:10,979 –> 00:21:15,979 The tears of grieving people come at unexpected times. 330 00:21:16,680 –> 00:21:18,839 You never know when they’re gonna come next. 331 00:21:20,199 –> 00:21:23,760 One member of our grief group reminded us of the hymn, 332 00:21:23,760 –> 00:21:28,199 when sorrows like sea billows roll. 333 00:21:28,199 –> 00:21:31,119 And she said, you know, that’s what it is, 334 00:21:31,119 –> 00:21:35,479 sorrows are like sea billows, they’re like waves. 335 00:21:35,479 –> 00:21:37,599 Sorrow comes in waves, she says, 336 00:21:37,800 –> 00:21:40,780 and often when you don’t expect it, 337 00:21:40,780 –> 00:21:44,839 a new wave can be set off by a sight, 338 00:21:44,839 –> 00:21:47,839 a sound, or even a smell. 339 00:21:49,119 –> 00:21:51,079 Another member of our group said, 340 00:21:51,079 –> 00:21:55,859 people often say to me, I don’t know what to say to you 341 00:21:55,859 –> 00:21:58,359 because I don’t want to make you cry. 342 00:21:59,319 –> 00:22:02,239 So I expect it’s probably some of us have said that to her. 343 00:22:03,199 –> 00:22:05,579 And she said, I just say to them, 344 00:22:06,579 –> 00:22:10,619 you’re not gonna take me any place I don’t live already. 345 00:22:12,359 –> 00:22:15,959 If you make me cry, you’re not gonna take me any place 346 00:22:15,959 –> 00:22:18,459 that I don’t live already. 347 00:22:19,520 –> 00:22:23,079 Now sometimes, of course, tears won’t come. 348 00:22:23,079 –> 00:22:26,699 And you have this also in the book of Lamentations. 349 00:22:26,699 –> 00:22:30,560 One member of our group said that when she heard 350 00:22:30,560 –> 00:22:34,180 of the sudden death of her son in a car accident, 351 00:22:34,180 –> 00:22:37,180 she said, I was in such a state of shock, 352 00:22:37,180 –> 00:22:41,400 I couldn’t cry for days, that was her testimony. 353 00:22:42,699 –> 00:22:45,939 And we look to Lamentations chapter one and verse 13. 354 00:22:45,939 –> 00:22:46,780 Do you see it there? 355 00:22:46,780 –> 00:22:51,739 It says He has left me stunned, stunned. 356 00:22:52,459 –> 00:22:56,560 Stunned is when I’m not registering anything. 357 00:22:57,660 –> 00:23:00,599 Sometimes the shock of a really great loss 358 00:23:00,599 –> 00:23:03,979 can be so great that it freezes the senses 359 00:23:03,979 –> 00:23:05,959 as it were for a time. 360 00:23:05,959 –> 00:23:08,640 I couldn’t cry for days, she said. 361 00:23:09,640 –> 00:23:12,339 And what you therefore expect to feel 362 00:23:12,339 –> 00:23:14,640 or even what you think you should feel, 363 00:23:14,640 –> 00:23:16,800 you find to your great surprise, 364 00:23:16,800 –> 00:23:20,800 you for sometime don’t seem to feel at all. 365 00:23:20,800 –> 00:23:21,780 Stunned. 366 00:23:23,560 –> 00:23:25,640 But Lamentations says to us, 367 00:23:25,640 –> 00:23:30,520 when the tears come, let them flow. 368 00:23:30,520 –> 00:23:32,119 Don’t hold them back. 369 00:23:32,119 –> 00:23:36,619 In fact, the exhortation is given to us very specifically. 370 00:23:36,619 –> 00:23:38,520 Let me give you another two examples. 371 00:23:38,520 –> 00:23:41,319 Lamentation’s chapter two in verse 18. 372 00:23:41,319 –> 00:23:46,319 Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night. 373 00:23:49,079 –> 00:23:51,599 Let them go. 374 00:23:51,599 –> 00:23:53,800 Let the tears flow when they come. 375 00:23:55,319 –> 00:23:58,560 Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite, 376 00:23:58,579 –> 00:24:01,900 or, the following verse, pour out your heart 377 00:24:01,900 –> 00:24:06,900 like water before the presence of the Lord. 378 00:24:08,420 –> 00:24:11,400 Now, we’re being told something very, very important here, 379 00:24:11,400 –> 00:24:14,979 and it’s not only in regards to the loss of a loved one. 380 00:24:14,979 –> 00:24:17,300 It may be regards to other losses 381 00:24:17,300 –> 00:24:22,300 that need to be taken more seriously 382 00:24:23,939 –> 00:24:27,339 in our own grieving. 383 00:24:28,099 –> 00:24:29,760 Leslie Allen tells this, 384 00:24:29,760 –> 00:24:31,479 I use this just as one example 385 00:24:31,479 –> 00:24:34,699 to make you think of multiple other areas 386 00:24:34,699 –> 00:24:36,099 in which it might apply. 387 00:24:37,359 –> 00:24:40,359 He says this, I recall a patient 388 00:24:40,359 –> 00:24:43,780 who having undergone a mastectomy 389 00:24:43,780 –> 00:24:45,520 found it difficult to grieve 390 00:24:45,520 –> 00:24:48,680 because of, she said, her Christian faith. 391 00:24:50,040 –> 00:24:54,920 She thought that grief was a sign of spiritual weakness 392 00:24:54,920 –> 00:24:56,400 and a lack of trust. 393 00:24:58,199 –> 00:25:01,560 It had, she thought, to be stifled 394 00:25:02,439 –> 00:25:04,819 as being dishonoring to God 395 00:25:04,819 –> 00:25:07,300 to grieve that particular loss. 396 00:25:09,000 –> 00:25:11,219 Well, says Leslie Allen, 397 00:25:11,219 –> 00:25:16,219 lamentations belies such a stoic view. 398 00:25:16,699 –> 00:25:18,579 Now, he’s absolutely right. 399 00:25:18,579 –> 00:25:21,280 Here we have a book in the Bible 400 00:25:21,280 –> 00:25:24,579 that validates the tears of godly people, 401 00:25:24,579 –> 00:25:29,579 faithful people, in the face and in the experience of loss. 402 00:25:32,020 –> 00:25:34,619 That’s the first thing, tears. 403 00:25:34,619 –> 00:25:39,619 Here’s the second, talk, don’t hold it back. 404 00:25:40,800 –> 00:25:43,500 Now, here’s the most obvious statement, 405 00:25:43,500 –> 00:25:48,260 the entire book of Lamentations, five chapters, 406 00:25:48,260 –> 00:25:50,739 and they’re all poems in their own right, 407 00:25:50,739 –> 00:25:52,819 five distinct poems. 408 00:25:52,819 –> 00:25:56,199 They are all an expression of grief. 409 00:25:56,199 –> 00:26:01,199 They all do one thing, they put grief into words. 410 00:26:02,300 –> 00:26:06,099 Lamentations is a sustained outpouring of grief 411 00:26:06,099 –> 00:26:10,160 in which the painful details of what happened 412 00:26:10,160 –> 00:26:13,060 and all that was lost, they’re poured over, 413 00:26:13,060 –> 00:26:16,540 put into words, and expressed again 414 00:26:16,540 –> 00:26:18,780 and again and again and again. 415 00:26:18,780 –> 00:26:19,619 Read the whole book, 416 00:26:19,619 –> 00:26:22,500 and you’ll say this is being repeated many, many, many times. 417 00:26:22,500 –> 00:26:25,119 Yes, exactly, that’s what grief does. 418 00:26:25,119 –> 00:26:26,359 That is what it’s like. 419 00:26:28,319 –> 00:26:31,920 Leslie Allen quotes the words of Shakespeare in Macbeth. 420 00:26:31,920 –> 00:26:36,920 Give sorrow words, give sorrow words. 421 00:26:38,599 –> 00:26:42,079 Then Shakespeare adds the grief that does not speak 422 00:26:43,020 –> 00:26:46,760 whispers the o’er frought heart and bids it break. 423 00:26:46,760 –> 00:26:49,359 In other words, if there’s a grief that won’t speak, 424 00:26:50,040 –> 00:26:53,920 it tempts the very heart to break. 425 00:26:53,920 –> 00:26:58,900 Give sorrow words, and that’s what lamentations does. 426 00:26:58,900 –> 00:27:02,500 It is a community of believing people 427 00:27:03,739 –> 00:27:07,380 who are giving words to this unspeakable sorrow 428 00:27:07,380 –> 00:27:10,300 and loss that they have experienced. 429 00:27:11,780 –> 00:27:14,040 And you’ll be struck by the repetition 430 00:27:14,040 –> 00:27:18,520 in which again and again they go over the same thing. 431 00:27:19,959 –> 00:27:22,459 And speak of the same loss. 432 00:27:22,459 –> 00:27:24,180 Let me give you a picture. 433 00:27:25,359 –> 00:27:30,040 Imagine a priceless vase or at least 434 00:27:30,040 –> 00:27:32,239 one that’s really valuable to you. 435 00:27:32,239 –> 00:27:34,599 Or a vase, I think is how I should say it 436 00:27:34,599 –> 00:27:37,079 in this wonderful country, right? 437 00:27:37,079 –> 00:27:39,599 Or an ornament, okay? 438 00:27:39,599 –> 00:27:42,680 And here is this vase. 439 00:27:42,680 –> 00:27:47,079 And it’s dropped 440 00:27:47,079 –> 00:27:50,619 and it’s smashed into a 100 pieces. 441 00:27:53,040 –> 00:27:57,040 And here is the woman who loved that vase. 442 00:27:58,079 –> 00:27:58,920 And what does she do? 443 00:27:58,920 –> 00:28:00,640 She gets down on her knees 444 00:28:00,640 –> 00:28:03,540 and she picks up these pieces one by one 445 00:28:03,540 –> 00:28:04,599 and she holds them up 446 00:28:04,599 –> 00:28:06,280 and she looks at them. 447 00:28:07,520 –> 00:28:09,719 Turning around, as if almost to remember 448 00:28:09,719 –> 00:28:11,260 where was it in the vase 449 00:28:11,260 –> 00:28:13,579 that that piece actually belonged? 450 00:28:13,619 –> 00:28:15,079 And there it is. 451 00:28:15,079 –> 00:28:17,579 Something like that happens in grief 452 00:28:17,579 –> 00:28:19,339 and that is why very often, 453 00:28:19,339 –> 00:28:22,979 a grieving person will speak at great length 454 00:28:22,979 –> 00:28:25,060 about what seems to other, 455 00:28:25,060 –> 00:28:27,800 a tiny little detail, 456 00:28:28,859 –> 00:28:31,040 and you say well, why is that important to him? 457 00:28:31,040 –> 00:28:32,560 Why is that important to her 458 00:28:32,560 –> 00:28:33,540 in the big picture? 459 00:28:33,540 –> 00:28:34,719 Well, the point is, 460 00:28:34,719 –> 00:28:36,859 it’s part of the big picture 461 00:28:36,859 –> 00:28:40,140 and no matter how small the fragment might have been 462 00:28:40,140 –> 00:28:41,619 that the woman picks up, 463 00:28:41,619 –> 00:28:43,500 it was part of the vase 464 00:28:43,939 –> 00:28:45,780 and that’s why she looks at it 465 00:28:45,780 –> 00:28:48,359 so wistfully and so longingly 466 00:28:48,359 –> 00:28:50,280 and with such great sadness 467 00:28:50,280 –> 00:28:54,560 even over that very, very small part. 468 00:28:54,560 –> 00:28:57,060 It was part of something valued, 469 00:28:58,040 –> 00:29:00,079 part of something dearly loved. 470 00:29:01,300 –> 00:29:03,160 So now God has given to us 471 00:29:03,160 –> 00:29:05,199 this whole book of the Bible 472 00:29:05,199 –> 00:29:10,199 that is a sustained outpouring of grief 473 00:29:10,579 –> 00:29:14,800 in which loss is put into words 474 00:29:14,800 –> 00:29:18,800 and it is expressed over and over and over again. 475 00:29:18,800 –> 00:29:23,560 Surely in this God is telling us 476 00:29:23,560 –> 00:29:28,239 something very important about how to grieve, 477 00:29:30,060 –> 00:29:31,239 tears and talk. 478 00:29:32,479 –> 00:29:37,479 Let the tears flow and don’t hold the words back. 479 00:29:37,680 –> 00:29:38,420 Let the tears flow and don’t hold the words back. 480 00:29:40,160 –> 00:29:44,520 The biographer, or a biographer of G. K. Chesterton 481 00:29:44,520 –> 00:29:49,520 tells of how his sister, Beatrice 482 00:29:50,560 –> 00:29:53,839 died when she was just eight years old. 483 00:29:54,880 –> 00:29:58,319 And so Chesterton’s also a little boy, growing up. 484 00:29:59,520 –> 00:30:04,280 And I quote, Chesterton’s father responded 485 00:30:05,239 –> 00:30:09,880 by turning Beatrice’s picture to the wall, 486 00:30:09,880 –> 00:30:12,739 getting rid of all her possessions, 487 00:30:13,760 –> 00:30:16,819 and forbidding anyone to mention her name. 488 00:30:19,839 –> 00:30:21,739 That’s done, we’re moving on, you see. 489 00:30:23,579 –> 00:30:25,739 Now you couldn’t have anything more opposite 490 00:30:25,739 –> 00:30:28,180 from what God is teaching us here 491 00:30:28,180 –> 00:30:30,880 in the Book of Lamentations. 492 00:30:30,880 –> 00:30:33,060 Thankfully, I think our culture today 493 00:30:33,060 –> 00:30:35,180 is much, much, much more in touch 494 00:30:35,180 –> 00:30:39,459 with the importance of speaking about our pain and our loss. 495 00:30:39,459 –> 00:30:41,040 But here’s the thing friends, 496 00:30:41,040 –> 00:30:45,500 a grieving person can only speak about their pain and loss 497 00:30:45,500 –> 00:30:50,060 if others of us are ready and willing to listen. 498 00:30:51,219 –> 00:30:53,619 There’s two sides to every conversation. 499 00:30:55,500 –> 00:30:59,699 Donald Howard, a pastor whose wife died at the age of 40 500 00:30:59,699 –> 00:31:01,619 and wrote a very helpful little booklet 501 00:31:01,660 –> 00:31:05,380 called Christians Grieve Too, he says this. 502 00:31:05,380 –> 00:31:07,800 Let the bereaved speak. 503 00:31:09,099 –> 00:31:11,380 Statements such as, 504 00:31:12,500 –> 00:31:14,439 you must often think of the time 505 00:31:14,439 –> 00:31:17,760 when you did such and such together 506 00:31:17,760 –> 00:3:21,900 can be helpful ways of opening up that conversation. 507 00:31:21,900 –> 00:31:23,459 In other words, he’s saying just, 508 00:31:23,459 –> 00:31:24,979 it’s actually a good thing 509 00:31:25,800 –> 00:31:28,339 when someone is in the place of sorrow 510 00:31:28,339 –> 00:31:29,979 for you to find some ways 511 00:31:30,119 –> 00:31:32,660 that naturally opens up conversation 512 00:31:32,660 –> 00:31:35,760 that allows them, invites them 513 00:31:35,760 –> 00:31:39,020 to be able to speak about the one 514 00:31:39,979 –> 00:31:43,280 who is always on their minds. 515 00:31:43,280 –> 00:31:45,859 Then he says this, and I’m sure we’ll all recognize it. 516 00:31:45,859 –> 00:31:49,099 He says often, it’s the opposite that happens. 517 00:31:49,099 –> 00:31:51,880 A typical illustration of the opposite, he says, 518 00:31:51,880 –> 00:31:55,959 is of a widow whose friends are talking with her 519 00:31:55,959 –> 00:31:58,540 when one of them remembers a funny story 520 00:31:58,619 –> 00:31:59,579 about the husband. 521 00:31:59,579 –> 00:32:02,020 But he stops himself from telling it 522 00:32:02,020 –> 00:32:04,300 out of consideration for the widow. 523 00:32:05,520 –> 00:32:08,540 And like everyone else, just steers the conversation 524 00:32:08,540 –> 00:32:11,719 away from the husband’s life altogether. 525 00:32:13,060 –> 00:32:15,660 Now, he says, had he told the story, 526 00:32:16,739 –> 00:32:18,540 she would probably have laughed, 527 00:32:18,540 –> 00:32:21,900 and perhaps there might have been a tear or two in her eyes. 528 00:32:22,979 –> 00:32:24,699 But she would have thought it wonderful 529 00:32:24,699 –> 00:32:26,699 that he was still remembered. 530 00:32:27,619 –> 00:32:29,500 And then this. 531 00:32:29,500 –> 00:32:34,500 Part of the congregation’s task as time goes by 532 00:32:34,780 –> 00:32:39,780 is to help keep the memory of loved ones alive. 533 00:32:39,900 –> 00:32:41,300 That’s worth holding on to. 534 00:32:42,219 –> 00:32:44,099 Part of our responsibility, 535 00:32:44,099 –> 00:32:46,500 and part of how we can help those 536 00:32:46,500 –> 00:32:48,339 who are walking in the valley of grief 537 00:32:48,339 –> 00:32:49,579 and suffering and loss 538 00:32:50,520 –> 00:32:54,939 is by actively keeping the memory 539 00:32:54,959 –> 00:32:58,099 of one who is now gone from among us 540 00:32:58,099 –> 00:33:00,439 alive and present, 541 00:33:00,439 –> 00:33:03,660 because that memory is alive and present 542 00:33:03,660 –> 00:33:08,239 in the mind and heart of the grieving person every day. 543 00:33:08,239 –> 00:33:12,239 The question for them is, does anyone else remember? 544 00:33:12,239 –> 00:33:13,939 Does anyone else really care? 545 00:33:15,500 –> 00:33:18,540 So now let’s remember this. 546 00:33:20,099 –> 00:33:24,400 We’ve thought about the importance of the congregation 547 00:33:25,140 –> 00:33:27,579 and Lamentations is the wailing, really, 548 00:33:27,579 –> 00:33:29,560 of a congregation together, 549 00:33:30,500 –> 00:33:33,579 of us being able to listen so that others 550 00:33:33,579 –> 00:33:38,339 may have a way to weep with those who weep 551 00:33:38,339 –> 00:33:42,420 and may have a place in which they can speak 552 00:33:42,420 –> 00:33:44,380 and know that others will listen. 553 00:33:45,619 –> 00:33:48,660 Lamentations really is giving us a wonderful picture 554 00:33:48,660 –> 00:33:50,619 of what we’re commanded in the New Testament. 555 00:33:50,619 –> 00:33:53,140 We are to weep with those who weep 556 00:33:54,140 –> 00:33:56,319 as we are to rejoice with those who rejoice. 557 00:33:56,319 –> 00:33:58,979 But, remember this now. 558 00:33:58,979 –> 00:34:02,640 There are two sides to weeping with those who weep. 559 00:34:02,640 –> 00:34:05,119 The first is there must be brothers and sisters 560 00:34:05,119 –> 00:34:06,780 who are ready to listen. 561 00:34:06,780 –> 00:34:09,100 There must be those who are ready to sit down 562 00:34:09,100 –> 00:34:11,280 and to take time and to identify 563 00:34:11,280 –> 00:34:13,760 with the sorrow of the one who is bereaved. 564 00:34:13,760 –> 00:34:15,959 But, if that is to happen, 565 00:34:17,580 –> 00:34:20,800 the one who grieves must also be ready 566 00:34:20,800 –> 00:34:23,540 to allow some brothers and sisters 567 00:34:23,540 –> 00:34:26,020 into their own sorrow. 568 00:34:27,879 –> 00:34:29,679 Here, there’s a challenge as well 569 00:34:29,679 –> 00:34:32,899 for the person who is experiencing loss. 570 00:34:32,899 –> 00:34:34,679 See, it’s very easy to put up 571 00:34:34,679 –> 00:34:37,639 what we sometimes call a brave front 572 00:34:37,639 –> 00:34:40,459 or put up a brave face, 573 00:34:40,459 –> 00:34:42,979 to say, oh no, I don’t want any sadness. 574 00:34:43,840 –> 00:34:46,939 I only want to remember the celebration of life. 575 00:34:48,879 –> 00:34:50,600 Then, you see what that means 576 00:34:51,320 –> 00:34:52,139 and that is that you determine 577 00:34:52,139 –> 00:34:55,840 that you will only weep on your own. 578 00:34:57,600 –> 00:35:00,239 And that’s not what we find in lamentations. 579 00:35:02,340 –> 00:35:06,800 God calls your brothers and sisters in Christ 580 00:35:06,800 –> 00:35:07,919 to weep with you. 581 00:35:07,919 –> 00:35:09,760 There’s also a question here 582 00:35:09,760 –> 00:35:11,860 as to whether you, dearly loved, 583 00:35:11,860 –> 00:35:15,139 bereaved, person, are willing to let them. 584 00:35:17,060 –> 00:35:19,639 Who will be one 585 00:35:19,699 –> 00:35:21,760 with whom you will share your weeping? 586 00:35:21,760 –> 00:35:22,699 Won’t be everyone, 587 00:35:23,840 –> 00:35:25,320 but with whom will that be? 588 00:35:27,239 –> 00:35:31,459 Who will you allow into the experience 589 00:35:31,459 –> 00:35:33,120 of your sorrow and loss 590 00:35:33,120 –> 00:35:36,879 that they may seek, by the grace of God, 591 00:35:37,899 –> 00:35:40,800 to walk with you in it? 592 00:35:40,800 –> 00:35:43,840 The body of Christ 593 00:35:43,840 –> 00:35:48,260 is a wonderful part of God’s provision for you. 594 00:35:49,060 –> 00:35:51,820 And what that means in regards to sorrow and loss 595 00:35:51,820 –> 00:35:55,100 is that we are given the privilege 596 00:35:55,100 –> 00:35:59,879 and the calling of allowing some others in. 597 00:36:02,959 –> 00:36:04,879 And then there’s one more thing, 598 00:36:04,879 –> 00:36:06,659 and it’s simply this. 599 00:36:06,659 –> 00:36:09,919 Tears, talk, 600 00:36:09,919 –> 00:36:12,280 and here’s the third thing I want to say, 601 00:36:12,280 –> 00:36:16,560 tears, talk and Christ. 602 00:36:16,560 –> 00:36:19,100 Tears, talk, and Christ, 603 00:36:20,479 –> 00:36:22,439 because you can’t speak about tears, 604 00:36:22,439 –> 00:36:24,719 you can’t speak about talk without your mind 605 00:36:24,719 –> 00:36:28,439 very, very quickly going to our Lord Jesus Christ. 606 00:36:28,439 –> 00:36:30,780 Remember the Bible tells us this, 607 00:36:30,780 –> 00:36:33,560 Jesus wept. 608 00:36:34,479 –> 00:36:37,159 When Lazarus, who Jesus loved, died, 609 00:36:37,159 –> 00:36:38,979 our Lord came to Bethany. 610 00:36:38,979 –> 00:36:41,679 And when he arrived, Martha came out to meet him, 611 00:36:41,679 –> 00:36:43,060 then later Mary. 612 00:36:43,060 –> 00:36:45,399 These are two women who are grieving 613 00:36:45,739 –> 00:36:48,459 the death of their dearly loved brother. 614 00:36:49,820 –> 00:36:52,199 You remember that when Jesus saw Mary weeping 615 00:36:52,199 –> 00:36:54,399 and the Jews who’d come also weeping, 616 00:36:54,399 –> 00:36:59,399 Jesus was deeply moved from the very core of his being, 617 00:36:59,540 –> 00:37:00,639 compassion. 618 00:37:02,080 –> 00:37:03,520 And he was greatly troubled. 619 00:37:04,919 –> 00:37:07,780 He said to Mary, where have you laid him? 620 00:37:07,780 –> 00:37:11,260 They said to him, Lord come and see. 621 00:37:11,260 –> 00:37:14,340 In John 11, verse 35, Jesus wept. 622 00:37:16,360 –> 00:37:17,919 Why did he weep? 623 00:37:20,120 –> 00:37:23,020 He knew that in five minutes he was gonna raise 624 00:37:23,020 –> 00:37:24,419 Lazarus from the dead. 625 00:37:24,419 –> 00:37:27,219 The resurrection is five minutes away for this brother. 626 00:37:28,439 –> 00:37:33,100 He told Martha your brother will rise again. 627 00:37:34,860 –> 00:37:39,300 He did not say to Martha because your brother 628 00:37:39,300 –> 00:37:41,899 will rise again don’t grieve, he did not say that. 629 00:37:42,540 –> 00:37:47,540 No, he is the resurrection and he is the life. 630 00:37:49,179 –> 00:37:54,199 But he weeps with Martha and Mary over their loss. 631 00:37:56,620 –> 00:37:59,780 And friends please never forget God is intimately involved 632 00:37:59,780 –> 00:38:01,699 always with the grief of his people. 633 00:38:01,699 –> 00:38:03,500 There’s a beautiful verse in the Psalms 634 00:38:03,500 –> 00:38:04,500 that speaks about this. 635 00:38:04,500 –> 00:38:07,439 I hope you know it and if not then you’ll note it down 636 00:38:07,439 –> 00:38:10,459 and remember it for a time of grief or sorrow. 637 00:38:11,379 –> 00:38:12,760 It speaks in the Psalms about 638 00:38:12,760 –> 00:38:17,760 God gathering our tears in a bottle. 639 00:38:19,199 –> 00:38:21,040 It’s a beautiful beautiful picture. 640 00:38:21,040 –> 00:38:24,580 You have kept count of my tossings. 641 00:38:24,580 –> 00:38:25,399 Think about that. 642 00:38:25,399 –> 00:38:29,939 Every time you’ve turned in your bed on a sleepless night 643 00:38:29,939 –> 00:38:32,399 it is known completely to God. 644 00:38:32,399 –> 00:38:36,800 And then the psalmist says put my tears in your bottle. 645 00:38:36,820 –> 00:38:41,280 Are they not in your book? 646 00:38:42,239 –> 00:38:43,360 See what that’s saying? 647 00:38:44,600 –> 00:38:48,459 Every tear that has ever come from your eye 648 00:38:48,459 –> 00:38:50,080 and this is both eyes, 649 00:38:51,520 –> 00:38:55,479 is completely known to God, your heavenly father. 650 00:38:55,479 –> 00:38:58,199 Not a single tear that you have ever shed 651 00:38:58,199 –> 00:39:00,939 in your life will ever be forgotten by Him. 652 00:39:02,280 –> 00:39:05,179 The tears of God’s children are precious to God. 653 00:39:05,179 –> 00:39:09,620 They are part of why He sent His son into the world. 654 00:39:11,100 –> 00:39:13,260 There are so many wonderful statements in the Bible 655 00:39:13,260 –> 00:39:14,979 of why Jesus Christ came 656 00:39:14,979 –> 00:39:17,580 but one is this from Isaiah in chapter 61, 657 00:39:17,580 –> 00:39:20,939 the Messiah says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me, 658 00:39:20,939 –> 00:39:23,379 why, because the Lord has anointed me. 659 00:39:23,379 –> 00:39:26,419 Why, to bind up the brokenhearted. 660 00:39:26,419 –> 00:39:29,300 This is why I come into the world, says Jesus. 661 00:39:30,540 –> 00:39:32,699 To comfort those who mourn 662 00:39:32,719 –> 00:39:35,439 that they may be called oaks of righteousness, 663 00:39:35,439 –> 00:39:37,080 that you will be able to stand 664 00:39:37,080 –> 00:39:39,580 and not be destroyed in the sorrow 665 00:39:39,580 –> 00:39:41,860 that you are navigating your way through. 666 00:39:42,939 –> 00:39:46,219 Our Lord Jesus wonderfully is known in the Scripture 667 00:39:46,219 –> 00:39:50,100 as the man of sorrow as who was acquainted with grief. 668 00:39:50,100 –> 00:39:51,659 In the garden of Gethsemane, 669 00:39:51,659 –> 00:39:53,500 He knew what it was to say, 670 00:39:53,500 –> 00:39:57,080 my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow. 671 00:39:58,040 –> 00:40:00,860 So when you feel in your heart of hearts 672 00:40:00,860 –> 00:40:03,000 overwhelmed with sorrow, 673 00:40:04,280 –> 00:40:07,580 you’re Savior has been there. 674 00:40:09,060 –> 00:40:13,639 And you have a Savior who knows what it is to weep. 675 00:40:15,080 –> 00:40:17,719 And you also have a Savior to whom you can talk. 676 00:40:19,159 –> 00:40:22,379 There’s a great gulf fixed between our world 677 00:40:22,379 –> 00:40:25,919 and the world that is to come. 678 00:40:26,000 –> 00:40:28,040 And when a loved one has died, 679 00:40:28,040 –> 00:40:32,760 you cannot talk to that loved person. 680 00:40:32,760 –> 00:40:37,760 But if your loved one is with Christ, 681 00:40:37,800 –> 00:40:41,020 you can talk with Christ about your loved one, 682 00:40:41,020 –> 00:40:43,020 and that’s a very, very wonderful thing. 683 00:40:44,239 –> 00:40:47,679 You can talk to the Savior about the loved one 684 00:40:47,679 –> 00:40:51,959 who is in his house with him. 685 00:40:52,919 –> 00:40:57,659 You can tell the Savior how much you miss that loved one. 686 00:40:58,659 –> 00:41:03,659 You can tell the Savior how much you love them. 687 00:41:03,679 –> 00:41:06,520 You can bring the pain of your loss 688 00:41:06,520 –> 00:41:10,760 to the Savior, who is familiar with sorrow, 689 00:41:10,760 –> 00:41:12,899 familiar with grief. 690 00:41:14,399 –> 00:41:16,560 Now, friends, one day God will very wonderfully 691 00:41:16,560 –> 00:41:18,439 wipe all tears from our eyes. 692 00:41:18,439 –> 00:41:20,719 Literally, the Bible says, 693 00:41:20,760 –> 00:41:23,719 He will wipe all tears out of our eyes, 694 00:41:23,719 –> 00:41:26,600 as if to convey that He would take away 695 00:41:26,600 –> 00:41:28,739 not only the tears, but the very source 696 00:41:28,739 –> 00:41:31,120 of sorrow itself, as if the ducts themselves 697 00:41:31,120 –> 00:41:33,260 were finally removed in the new heaven 698 00:41:33,260 –> 00:41:35,159 and the new earth, and the resurrection body, 699 00:41:35,159 –> 00:41:37,600 because such will not be needed. 700 00:41:39,320 –> 00:41:40,800 Lord hasten that day. 701 00:41:42,239 –> 00:41:44,179 But that day has not come yet. 702 00:41:45,739 –> 00:41:49,219 Until then, there will be tears. 703 00:41:50,199 –> 00:41:53,040 But there is also the Man of Sorrows, 704 00:41:53,040 –> 00:41:57,060 acquainted with grief, who says in this book, 705 00:41:57,060 –> 00:42:00,620 see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. 706 00:42:01,719 –> 00:42:06,719 He plumbed the depths of sorrow when he died on the cross, 707 00:42:08,179 –> 00:42:13,179 and no one, no one is more ready or more able 708 00:42:15,620 –> 00:42:18,120 to walk through the valley of grief, sorrow, 709 00:42:18,120 –> 00:42:23,120 and loss with you than Jesus Christ. 710 00:42:23,179 –> 00:42:27,620 Father, for such a Savior, 711 00:42:27,620 –> 00:42:32,620 we give to you our thanks and our praise 712 00:42:34,340 –> 00:42:39,340 through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 713 00:42:44,060 –> 00:42:45,600 You’ve been listening to a sermon 714 00:42:45,600 –> 00:42:47,699 with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible 715 00:42:47,699 –> 00:42:48,739 to contact us. 716 00:42:48,739 –> 00:42:52,959 Call us at 1-877-OPEN365 717 00:42:52,959 –> 00:42:56,560 or visit our website, openthebible.org.