I wanna take out to, your bible turned
to the gospel of Matthew,
in chapter 5, we're gonna be there in
just a few moments. Matthew.
Chapter 5, And this is our,
second week in this particular series that we're
calling the life that flourish
You know, for years,
Google maps has offered what they call street
view? How many of you use street view
on Google Maps kind of a cool thing.
You can look at the house you grew
up in or, you know, it's just it's
kinda cool. We'll look at stuff like that
in street view, stitches together, kinda, panoramic camera
images to
recreate a a digital fax
effect family of the real world,
that you can explore, right? Right from your
your computer or your phone.
Maybe you've even seen the Google car in
your neighborhoods
scoot around taking pictures are around town.
Now, some people are discovering that if they
scroll through the the platform long enough, and
they use what what's called the time travel
feature that they might just find the image,
of a late loved 1
captured
by 1 of Google's cameras,
seemingly saved in Google maps forever. I read
an article about this people have seen, like
somebody saw their deceased grandfather out. Power washing
his driveway.
Years before, and it's still there on on
the Google Maps. 1 post from a a
woman in the in the United Kingdom, a
a woman by the name of Sherry Turner,
has really struck a cord on social media.
After she shared her experience of vividly
reliving a day has with her deceased mother.
Thanks to Google Maps photo archive.
And her post has racked up tens of
thousands actually an out by now hundreds of
thousands of of likes and comments. And she
wrote this. She said, I looked at my
mom's old house on Google Maps Street view,
the house where I grew up.
It says image captured May, 2009.
There's a light on in her bedroom.
When I look at it, it is still
her house.
She's still alive.
And I envision that I'm still visiting her
every few months
on the train.
I take a screen print of the house
with the lights on because
I know it won't last forever. And 1
day, the Google car will go back down
that street and replace her house
with someone else's.
And though there may be a light on
in the window,
it won't be her.
And
thousands of people commented on that comment.
It just really moved people, you know, and
Google says that the the digital
recreation of the physical world is powered by
millions of cameras that capture all these multiple
angles. And while helping people
remember
deceased family members isn't really the intended purpose
of Google maps, a spoke spend for the
company said it was heartwarming
that people were using the platform
in this way.
Well,
the growing trend of finding signs of lost
what loved ones inevitably
serves as a reminder, of course, First of
all, that Google plays a major role in
our culture, doesn't it from day to day.
And well some people,
might find it comforting
that they can see the image of loved
ones preserve forever digitally,
In reality,
as they mourn,
they are merely grasping at a digital memory.
But as followers of Jesus,
it is vital that we know
that we find comfort in the truth,
that God has preserved not a picture,
but the souls
of our departed loved ones,
who have known him.
And that 1 day,
a great reunion is coming. The apostle Paul
puts it this way and first Thessalonians
chapter 4. He says, brothers and sisters.
We do not want you to be uninformed
about those
who sleep in death so that you do
not grieve
like the rest of mankind
who have no hope.
Well, today, we are continuing this series in
Matthew chapter 5. We're in calling it the
life that flourish.
And it is a review of the opening
to Jesus famous sermon on the mount.
And although Jesus first disciples
had left everything
to follow him. They still had very little
idea of what he wanted them to do.
And so this
introductory list in the first 12 verses of
Matthew chapter 5, We call it the beat
attitudes. And Jesus used this list to begin
their
initiation.
And his
description of the person whom God bless,
it cut across
the disciples
natural. It's experience,
and it cuts across our experience as well.
We don't expect happiness
to come from being poor
or from grieving
or getting caught in the in the crossfire
of trying to make peace
And yet, those
who follow and obey Christ
are more
than happy.
They are
blessed.
They are blessed
because they have a hope,
and they have a joy that is not
based on feelings
or on current circumstances.
Following Jesus
means living by standards
entirely
different
than public opinion.
Rather than making us popular or famous following
Jesus, sometimes
means facing
opposition
or
misunderstanding
and yet all of this
makes us
blessed.
And so once again, I'm gonna invite you
to read this passage together with me. We
read it last week. Today, we're gonna read
from a a different English translation. This is
called the contemporary
English
version, and each week as we read this
passage together. We're gonna read it from a
different...
English translation so that we can get the
full depth and meaning of this passage. So
let's read this passage
together.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up
on the side of a mountain and sat
down
Jesus disciples gathered around him and he taught
them.
God bless those people who depend only on
him.
They belong to the kingdom of heaven.
God bless those people who grieve.
They will find comfort.
God bless those people who are humble,
the earth will belong to them.
God bless those people who want to obey
him more than to eat or drink.
They will be given what they want.
God bless those people who are mer.
They will be treated with mercy.
God bless those people whose heart are pure.
They will see him.
God bless those people who make peace.
They will be called his children.
God bless those people who are treated badly
for doing right.
They belong to the kingdom of heaven.
God will bless you when people insult you,
mist you and tell all kinds of evil
lies about you because of me.
Be happy and excited.
You will have a great reward in heaven.
People did these same things to the prophets
who lived. Long ago.
Amen, the word of God.
Well,
today, our focus is on that second beat
attitude.
Or beautiful saying as we've called it. Blessed
are those who mourn?
For they shall be comforted.
Now we were reminded last week that that
word blessed in scripture means more than happy
because happiness is an emotion that's often dependent
on outward circumstances,
blessed as it's used here in Matthew 5,
refers to the ultimate well being,
the distinctive
spiritual joy,
of those people who share in the salvation
of the kingdom of god.
And much like the first beat attitude,
when we read it, it seems perhaps that
Jesus has something backward here.
Who wants to mourn? When Right? I mean,
I don't wanna mourn. I wanna be happy.
And strangely,
Jesus says that these 2 terms are
inter related,
Blessed, of course, really means joyful.
So joyful are those who mourn, how does
that make sense?
Well, in order to respond to what Jesus
means here, we need to understand 3 truths
about morning.
I wanna look at those this morning with
you. If you have your outline, you can
pull that out of your program if you're
a note taking person and follow along
The first thing that we want to notice
is that all morning
is inevitable. Morning is inevitable.
Now nobody likes the experience of mourning or
of grief,
but sooner or later,
everyone
must pass through it.
And if you've been fooled into thinking that
I shouldn't have to mourn,
I want you to know that that fool
that fooling, that lie, comes from Satan himself.
By declaring a blessing on those who mourn,
Jesus
indicates that grief is a normal part of
the Christian experience. It is
universal.
It makes no distinction between race or creed
or color, grief touches young and old, rich
and poor, male and female,
no 1 is exempt
from morning and grief.
Everybody grieve
because
everybody at some point experiences
loss.
Now, there is a popularized
version of Christianity
that gives the impression that faith in Christ
exempt us from this kind of suffering that
we should instead only experience prosperity and health
and happiness all the time.
And I wanna give you an example of
that kind of thinking and how it's perpetuated,
And I want you to understand that it's
not just perpetuated
by modern day preacher and authors as we
might think. This... Kind of thinking has been
around a long time.
Some of you are familiar with the old
Him, trust and obey,
and in that him is this particular stan
not a shadow can rise,
not a cloud in the skies, but his
smile quickly
drives it away, not a doubt nor a
fear. Not a sigh nor a tear can
abide
while we trust
and obey.
Now that is a great sentiment.
And there is some truth weave into that
and yet
even the strongest of believers will face difficult
times.
And dark shadows.
In fact, our journey to eternity and complete
joy is at times a trail,
of tears.
Some of you could attest to that, winding
through the valley of shadows
but
only
for a time.
We can find a more balanced view in
another old him.
That I wanna share a stan with, which
begins like this day by day and with
each passing moment strength I find
to meet my trials here.
Trusting in my father's wise stoma.
I no cause for worry
or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
gives unto each day what he deem best.
Lovingly,
it's part of pain
or pleasure,
ming toil,
with peace
and rest.
I hope that you see a perhaps more
balanced
viewpoint in that
verse of that him. And yet,
I think I like these second words less.
You know, the motion of seasons of mourning
or of
inevitable
hardship.
That's not very appealing. Is it?
But Jesus own words in are even more
disturbing, blessed are those who mourn?
What is he possibly thinking?
However, if we discover Jesus words carefully,
it becomes clear that the blessing
is not in the morning,
but in something else.
Are those who mourn blessed
because they enjoy grief?
No.
Blessed are those who mourn for they shall
be comforted.
Like that first be attitude. The blessing does
not reside in the experience of mourning or
grief,
but instead in the result that comes from
it.
And that's an important distinction for us to
understand. The blessing that comes, with mourning is
the blessing
of being comforted.
I I read a a story about a
European
seminary professor.
A man who was responsible for raising up
generations of pastors and teachers. His name was
Hans,
and his wife of many years, en
passed away suddenly,
unexpectedly.
And doctor Hans was so overcome with sorrow
that he lost his appetite.
He wouldn't even leave his house,
concern for him, the seminary president paid Horns
of visit.
Along with 3 other colleagues.
And the grieving professor confessed to his colleagues
that he was struggling with doubt. He said,
I am no longer able to pray to
god.
He admitted, In fact, I am not even
certain that I believe in God anymore.
Well, after a few moments of silence,
the seminary professor
president spoke. Could he said,
then Hans,
we will believe for you?
And we will pray
for you.
And so the president and those 3 colleagues
met every day for prayer.
They prayed for Hans,
day in day out, asking God to restore
the gift of faith
to their friend and colleague.
Some months later,
the 4 friends,
visited Hans again.
They gathered for prayer with hans,
but he held up his hand and he
smiled, and he said,
It is no longer
necessary for you to pray for me.
Today,
I would like you
to pray
with me.
You see the difference there? Do you see
the distinction? You see comfort
is something
that we give to others,
or it is something that we receive
from someone else it is not something that
we do for ourselves
with the blinds pulled.
Hiding
from the world around us.
And this is especially true of the kind
of mourning. I think that Jesus has in
mind here. This is a
special kind of mourning. And so this leads
to our second truth. If morning is inevitable,
It is also
spiritual.
Mourning
is spiritual. Jesus promises a blessing to those
who mourn because This kind of morning is
deeply
spiritual. It's part of our
spiritual existence.
Now, while someone's death is certainly the most
obvious case for mourning for grief,
it certainly isn't the only cause isn't it.
We can think of lots of examples of
reasons why we won't
why we might mourn.
We,
by the way often grieve, not just over
those that have passed, but over the living,
The apostle Paul writes about this kind of
grief in second Corinthians chapter 12. When he
says, to the Corinthians church writes, I fear
that when I come again, my god may
humble me before you, and I might have
to mourn
over many of those who send earlier
and have not repent.
You know, sometimes
We grieve over the sinful
actions of others.
Perhaps there are sinful actions that have been
per
against us. And so we mourn and we
grieve.
Perhaps, we we observe others making sinful choices
and decisions. And
we mourn. If you're a parent, you probably
know how Paul felt
toward the corinthians.
His sentiment is certainly a parental in nature.
Paul had written the church, promising to visit,
but he had been he'd been delayed for
for a number of reasons. And in the
meantime, word had reached him that serious problems
had arise in the Corinthians church. 1 of
the church's members was heavily involved in sin
and was completely un
about it. And even worse, the rest of
the church seemed proud
of this person's particular attitude.
And so in first corinthians,
chapter 5, in Paul's first letter to them.
He writes this. He says it is actually
reported that there's sexual immoral morality among you.
And a kind that does not even occur
among the pagans.
A man has his father's wife
and you are proud.
Shouldn't you rather have been filled with the
grief
and have put out of your fellowship, the
man who did this.
And so what Paul has to say to
the Corinthians
church seems a bit harsh
to our modern ear, put him out of
the church, really?
Where's the grace in that?
Isn't Paul supposed to be the apostle of
grace? He talks about, he writes about grace,
more than anyone else in the scriptures?
And so we might ask is isn't this
a little inconsistent.
It's worth comparing paul's
command to put this man out of the
church, with something he said in his letter
to the Galatians church,
letter that is just drenched with the theology
of grace, and then chapter 6 of galatians,
Paul commands this. He says, brothers, if someone
is caught in a sin,
you who are spiritual, should restore him gently,
but watch yourselves
or you also may be tempted.
And so what do you do when someone
is caught in sand.
You
restore them
in the original language this term means to
returned something to its former
condition.
Originally, the word was used to speak of
setting a broken bone.
That gives you a picture. That background helps
us understand Paul's thinking about this kind of
discipline that he commanded the cor church to
practice.
The action that he wants them to take
is rest
rather than punitive.
The long term goal is not to put
the man out,
but to restore him to his former
condition of blessed ness,
but that can't happen.
If the people around him his brothers and
sisters
are not mourning,
grieving
over his sin.
Now for the most part, we don't go
as far as the Corinthians did
boasting about sinner in the church, proud of
it.
What do we do instead?
Well, most often we're...
Silent about it.
We consider such things a matter of personal
conscience.
Have you ever wondered why it's so hard
for us to hold 1 another accountable for
our sins?
Well, 1 reason is we are afraid of
disrupting
relationships.
The tragedy, though of this is that, the
presence of sin has already
introduced a serious
disruption
into our midst,
and ignoring its presence
only makes things worse.
But there's a a more subtle, more personal
reason, why we don't want to deal
with sin within the body of Christ.
And I think it's related to what Jesus
says in this second be added. To.
We ignore
or minimize the sin of others
because we've never really learned to mourn
for our own sin.
I should also point out that the opposite
can be true.
Failure
to honestly deal with our own sin can
make us judgmental
and mean,
when dealing with the sin of others.
And so as with everything that Jesus teaches,
there is a perfect balance point,
And Jesus has more to say about this
later in the sermon on the mount. I'm
just gonna read a brief portion of that.
This comes from Matthew 7 Matthews
recording of the sermon on the mount, And
Jesus says this. Why do you look at
the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye
and pay no admission
attention to the plank in your own eye.
How can you say to your brother? Let
me take the speck out of your eye
when all the time, there's a plank in
your own eye. You
hip.
First take the plank out of your own
eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother's eye.
So either way,
the solution is the same. To properly
grieve
over the sin of others
I need to grieve over my own sins
first.
If you've ever traveled on an airplane,
you know that the same thing happens at
the beginning of every flight.
The flight attendants go through the instructions. Right?
You know what I mean? They give their
speech about, buck your seat belt, finding the
exits using your seat cushion for a flotation
device... If ever wondered... It's not really float.
I... I have no idea.
But at some point,
in the discourse, they say something that really
is full of wisdom and common sense. They
say, if, the cabin loses air pressure,
and oxygen mask will drop from the compartment
over your head and if someone is seated
next to you, and they need help. What
do they say? First put on your own
mask
before
assisting the person,
next to you. And when you think about
it, that makes a lot of sense.
And what I want you to see is
that Jesus uses the same reasoning here. You
can't help someone else deal with their sin
until you face your own first.
And so what's the remedy?
Holy morning.
Holy grief.
Now, does Jesus make
does does he imply that we should just
make a public spectacle of our sins should
we come up to the front of the
church and weep and whale in front of
the congregation,
weeping can be good,
but it's really not a guarantee of repentance.
Writing about this Berry be attitude, the old
P and Preacher, Thomas Watson said this.
It is not so much the weeping eye,
God respects
as the broken heart.
The broken heart.
You see the broken heart, is the problem
that keeps us from embracing this idea of
mourning.
Who really wants a broken heart
Nobody wants to sign up for that?
Have you ever broken your arm or your
foot or your nose? When has a broken
anything felt good.
And so what makes Jesus think that we
would aspire
to a broken heart?
Well,
as we mourn in loss,
as we mourn in sin,
it is important for us to hear the
promise
connected with the grief.
And so our third truth
contained in the beat attitude is this.
Mourning
is temporary.
Morning is certainly inevitable. It's gonna happen to
all of us It is a spiritual process
in which we must go through,
but it is also
temporary.
Jesus makes a promise to those who mourn
over their sin. Blessed are those who mourn
and he says, for they will be comforted.
They will be
console.
And so how does god grant this blessing
of comfort? How does that work? Lord?
Well, 1 way, he does it is through
his word?
Through his word in in first John 1
9, there's this outstanding promise. If we confess
our sins
He is faithful in just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all
un unconscious. That is a precious promise given
to every
believer.
But God also uses other people to comfort
us,
And second Corinthians 2, the apostle Paul tells
the church of Cor, how to respond to
that member who was be had been disciplined
by the church and is repent. And he
says this. Now instead, you ought to forgive
and comfort him
so that he will not be overwhelmed by
excessive
sorrow.
Excessive sorrow.
You get that word in there. And so
we understand there's a time for mourning
in the time of sin or in the
time of loss,
or the time of broken ness, but there
is also an excessive
sorrow
that needs to be put aside, and it
is best put put aside as God's people
surround the person who is mourning.
And so God uses his word. He uses
his people
And then there's a third means that God
uses to comfort those who mourn. And that
is his
own spirit.
In fact, in John 14,
as Jesus is talking to his disciples about
leaving
and sending someone else in his place.
The noun form of this very word comfort
is used as a title
for gods holy spirit. He is called v
with a capital t, the comfort
or the counselor,
1 important element of the spirit's
ministry in the life of each believer is
to provide us with the assurance
that god is with us,
that our sin has been forgiven
that he can help us in any
situation in which we are mourning or grieving.
But in the end,
even that is a temporary
measure.
Because ultimately,
there is only 1
complete
remedy
for grief
and friends, that is the comfort of being
in god's
presence.
Lieutenant jack Cam
spent more than a decade
talking people down off the ledge.
Until his retirement in 20 15, he was
the commanding officer of the
New York police department's hostage
negotiation team,
a position which he held for over 33
years.
And during his career, he became an expert
at saving
fellow cops from gun wielding man acts.
Or dis waiting people not to jump off
AAA
skyscraper
or a bridge
of which there's an abundance in New York
City.
And what's the success?
What's the secret
to being
a good
negotiator?
Well, the Lieutenant Cam says this. He says
the very good negotiators I think are the
ones with the life stories.
Particularly, he would add life stories of pain
that have produced
compassion for others.
Cam claims good negotiators must experience
the emotion of love at 1 point of
their life.
They must know what it means to have
been greatly hurt at 1 point in their
life, and they must know
success.
And perhaps most importantly
to know what it means
to know failures.
All of these things
go together
to make a person
a good
negotiator.
Or we could say a good comfort.
Lieutenant Cam writes that he learned this lesson
on his very first day as a police
officer.
Cam admitted that he had his own baggage
about the homeless. They were violent. They were
dirty. They were mentally ill. And then on
that first day,
He had to
confront and arrest a homeless man who had
jumped the subways, turns style.
And in the midst of this encounter,
Cam searched the man satchel. And inside
wasn't a weapon, but instead,
a manuscript of a play
entitled
crabs in a basket.
And the play was a metaphor
for the man
The homeless man and his struggle to crawl
out
of the whole,
which he found himself in.
And so lieutenant cam writes in that 2
minute space of time,
he had transposed
himself from a homeless guy, my baggage
to a
play right.
Mister Cam recall.
That compassion
which lasted him throughout his career
that he learned on that first day as
a rookie cup,
led his colleagues in the in the New
York police department to call him gentleman jack.
Gentleman jack, and his guiding principle
was always to extend comfort
and compassion
in order to get people talking.
So my friends,
the grief
in our life
because of loss
or heartache
or own sinful choices
That grief
can drive us in 2 opposing
directions.
It can drive us towards self destructive behavior
and thought patterns,
or it can drive us towards the comfort
offered,
by our lord.
The comfort made evident in his word through
his people
and by his holy spirit.
We might think
of the holy spirit as our personal
crisis
negotiator.
Whose very presence brings comfort
and compassion.
As we stand
on the ledge
of grief
or depression
or sorrow,
the remedy
of comfort and compassion is available.
It's available to anyone
and all
who will simply
listen
and receive
in revelation chapter 21
versus 4 and 5,
the remedy.
The remedy will come to those who know
Jesus Christ as savior,
the ultimate remedy, not the temporary remedy,
but the final remedy. And 1 day, it
says God will wipe every tear from their
eyes.
There will be, no more death.
Or
morning,
or crying,
or pain,
for the old order of things,
has passed away.
Friends,
our tears of sorrow,
over sin
or lost
or deaths
or crazy people trying to shoot political candidates,
all of that
will be wiped away.
It will no longer exist.
And though we may sometimes
doubt it.
Just like that seminary professor.
The promise
of that day
is certain,
But for now,
our journey
to that place of full and complete joy
maybe at times.
A trail of tears,
winding its way
through the valley
of shadows,
but only
for a time.
For weeping,
may last for the night.
But joy
comes
in the morning.
Will you pray with me?