Blessed Are They That Mourn – Part 2

 

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

 

Michael continues: Sin is boastful, proud, arrogant, ungrateful, without self-control. It is jealous of our outward reputation. The sin nature is independent of God and absent of God. Sin loves the darkness, a curtain to operate behind the scenes and hides in the shadows ... for they that do evil hate the light, neither comes to the light lest their deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God - John 3:19-20.

Apart from the grace of God, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Without God, I am set to self-destruct because the wrath of God abides and resides upon the unsaved / unregenerate sinner. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 3:23) and He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life (John 3:36).

The Holy Spirit is the one who comforts the afflicted. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. When we come to realize that each of us is a sinner, who cannot save ourselves from Hell and in need of deliverance, this is the point of repentance. Jesus said, come unto me all ye who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. When we are crushed and downtrodden by sin and the cares and tribulation of this sinful world, when we reach to God in repentance for deliverance; this is the point of inflection ... a change of direction. Blessed are they that mourn when they realize, I have found the enemy and the enemy is me.  

God sent His Son Jesus Christ. Why? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” – John 3;16-17. Repentance is when in our mourning we come to ourselves like the prodigal son of Luke 15:11-32. After he had squandered away his father’s inheritance, he sank so low that he lived in a pig pen with the pigs. He was so hungry that he craved pig slop ... “he would gladly have filled his stomach with the ^[e]pods that the swine ate.” There was a rude awakening when he hit rock bottom. The point of repentance, of turning around, is when “he came to himself.” He said, I shall arise and go unto my father. 

 

Repentance is to turn from the darkness of a deprived and depraved world and unto the light of the Father’s only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. When we come unto our merciful Father in confession of our sins, He will cast our sins as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. This is amazing grace; this is unchanging, unmerited love. When we confess that Jesus is Lord, as stated before, He who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him!

In surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ, I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life that I now live I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.Then we can rejoice with the Psalmist according to Psalm 145: I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable ... The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee”... Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

This is the joy of the Lord. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning... Morning by morning new mercies I see that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Let's conclude Michael's message on mourning sin in the nest post.

In Christ, Brian