Beatitudes - Part 3

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] good morning church i have to say i don't know about you but i'm so glad that god is a friend who would have thought people who don't deserve it people who are broken people who are weak that we can be called friends of god that's right well i'm going to reintroduce myself my name is christian norman and i've been incredibly blessed my wife my family we have been incredibly blessed by the opportunity to serve here as the associate pastor it's been a great joy to me and i hope that you've been encouraged by this series this truly is the greatest sermon that's ever been preached by the greatest preacher who's ever lived i've been encouraged by this word pastor jeremy i'm so encouraged and thankful for your leadership commitment to the word of god and passion for the kingdom it's refreshing don't always see it but i'm so glad to be at a church like this with a pastor like jeremy going through a series like this one i want to keep the tradition that we've been having when it comes to the sermon on the mount so if he could look on the screens behind me so that we can read each beatitude together not after me but together blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven let's pray together lord god we recognize on this sunday morning that you're a friend your steadfast love o lord endures forever it's your kindness o lord that leads us to repentance i ask o god that as a result of the preaching and the teaching of your word we would press into your character lord i ask that as your word goes goes forth that your spirit will draw us into you as our source for comfort lord i pray for the people in this room and for the people who are watching online that rather than running from you that rather than hiding from you when things get difficult we would run towards you lord i pray that we would believe the truth that you draw near toward those who draw near to you so god i don't know who needs to hear about your comfort this morning but you do and i asked that you would minim minister to their hearts lord i ask for those who don't even recognize recognize the need to be comforted by you lord that they will recognize that need on this sunday morning i ask o god that you would be glorified i ask o god that you would be with me as i preach your word and i ask that your people would be encouraged in jesus name we pray amen so i grew up in a household where grammar was very important my grandmother was an elementary school teacher and language arts was her area of expertise and my mother joined forces at the grammar police department in the city of detroit so i was exposed to grammar at an early age we talked about things called oxymorons an oxymoron by definition are two things that seem like they should be in contradiction to one another but they show up at the same time life is full of oxymorons we use them all the time deafening silence successful atlanta falcons [Laughter] unbiased news we use oxymorons all the time just as oxymorons are a reality of life oxymorons are also a reality of the kingdom of god the kingdom is important the kingdom is a theme in matthew's gospel this word kingdom shows up 55 times so the spirit of god wants us to know about the kingdom and the people that existed during this day were looking for the messiah they were looking for the king and the king did come but it came in an oxymoronic way the king who's the son of abraham the king who's a descendant of david came as a baby born in the manger the king who's the only sovereign the king who has all authority in his hands came and was persecuted by king herod the king who's the author creator and sustainer of life came as a man who got tired when he fasted for 40 days in the desert jesus is the king of oxymorons and in the sermon on the mount he lets his people know that as his disciples they are to take on his kingdom character the kingdom of christ is different from the kingdom of the world jesus said in john 18 36 that my kingdom is not of this world the kingdom of the world rejects the authority of the one true king but the kingdom of christ is also different than the kingdom of empty religion the kingdom of christ is concerned with obedience that comes from the heart not just outward conformity the kingdom is an oxymoron but that leads me to the oxymoron that we see in matthew chapter 5 verse 4. blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted that's the first point that i want to make this morning in this oxymoronic kingdom blessing comes through mourning in this oxymoronic kingdom blessing comes to mourning i'd like to ask us a question is this anybody in this room that's ever mourned before this word from morning as it's used in the new testament and as it's used in the old testament covers a wide range of human issues so has anybody in this room ever mourn the death of a loved one has anybody in this room mourned over disappointments and failed expectations maybe you had a vision for your life when you were young but as you've gotten older you've realized that your expectations aren't matching your reality maybe it's mourning over wayward children you recognize that you're not the perfect parent but you tried your best to instill within your children a biblical worldview only to find that as they've gotten older and as they've made their own decisions they've rejected everything that mom and dad taught them maybe it's a failed marriage or failing marriage maybe it's economic loss has anybody in this room ever mourned before i get the prayer page on a regular basis so i know the answer to that question here's a better one has anybody in this room mourned over their sin the bible says in james chapter 4 verse 7 jake you alluded to it submit yourselves therefore to god resist the devil and he will flee from you draw near to god and he will draw near to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded be wretched and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom this word for mourn covers a wide range of human issues including the biggest issue that faces all of us and that's the issue of sin you can make an argument that spiritual mourning is more important than physical mourning why because the bible shows us that ever since the fall in genesis 3 the problem of sin affects everything else that we see because we've rebelled against god we see all kinds of brokenness in the world today and all of creation groans as it awaits the glory of the sons of god you know my preparation i've asked myself the question why does this be attitude come after the first one blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted here's why i think the spirit of god put this beatitude where he did recognizing our spiritual poverty is one thing but being broken over our spiritual poverty is entirely different i love being a pastor it's the best calling that you could ever have one of the reasons why i love being a pastor is because of people you meet all kinds of people spend time with all kinds of people i love people i'm an introvert by nature so if i have too much of people then i just need to recharge a little bit but i love people so over the last nine or ten years i've noticed that there is a certain kind of person maybe you have too this is the person that recognizes their wrongdoing but hasn't been affected by it give you an example back in michigan i was pastoring at highland park baptist church there was a young man who was a part of the ministry that i was overseeing at the time i won't say his name but one day he comes to me and says pastor christian i've been struggling i've been looking at images online that i know i shouldn't be looking at so i'll say okay let's get together let's meet about it let's talk about it victory is accessible to you jesus has died and risen from the grave so that you can walk in victory over sin let's talk about it let's meet so we met over months we will get together there'll be some growth then there'll be a fall we get together again there will be some more growth then there'll be a fall but over time didn't see the growth we just saw the fall and as he would talk about this particular sin i could tell that the tone had shifted it was more nonchalant than it was before so one day i say hey are you broken over your sin he didn't answer so i said here's why i'm asking until you get to a place where you're broken until you get to a place where you recognize that this particular sin can do damage to your life can rob you of what god would have for you until you get to a place where you're affected by that you won't see the kind of victory that you desire i haven't seen or heard from them since it's a tragedy here was someone who had a heart for missions here's someone who wanted to take the gospel to all kinds of places here was someone who understood doctrine and theology but their hearts had gotten cold my wife is sitting in the front row she can testify after this when we were recording i said one prayer that i have for my life is that i would never get to a place where i'm no longer sensitive over my sin that's a scary place to be as a believer recognizing our spiritual poverty is one thing being broken over our spiritual poverty is another so when is the last time you mourn when is the last time you've wept when is the last time that you've gone before god recognize that there was brokenness in the relationship because that's what makes sin so egregious it's not just the breach of a standard it's a breach in fellowship with god so when is the last time that you mourned over sin the reality is that we live in a fallen world our world has fallen spiritually morally physically politically economically relationally we live in a fallen world but here's the promise according to god's word if you recognize that and if you're broken by that scripture calls you blessed the bible calls you blessed now that's counterintuitive why could it be that our understanding of blessing is wrong oftentimes when we think about blessing what we have in mind is material well-being when we think about blessing we would define it as the measure of the amount of wealth that we have and how healthy we are and unfortunately we can find preachers and teachers that would say that it's always the will of god that you would be healthy and wealthy never mind that the son of man himself had no place to lay his head that's not the definition of blessing according to scripture blessing defined by the bible is the measure of a person's intimacy with god and obedience to his word that's why the bible says in psalm chapter 1 verses 1 to 2 blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is on the law of the lord and on his law he meditates day and night that's what jesus in luke chapter 11 verse 28 blessed is the one who hears the word of god and keeps it that's why the bible says in psalms 33 verse 9. who taste and see that the lord is good blessed is the one whose refuge is in him blessing in the bible is independent of circumstances it is possible that in the midst of despair and toil we still have access to blessing i'll give you an example david is a man that experienced turmoil both spiritually and physically he committed adultery he got a man killed and as a result of his sin god told him that there would be strife in his family for generations to come so he had spiritual despair and he had physical despair but then god sent a man to tell him about a sin david mourned and he repented so in psalm 32 we read david saying that in the midst of turmoil in the midst of the spiritual and physical brokenness blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven blessed is the one against whom the lord will not count his sin blessing in the midst of mourning so how does this happen how is it possible that in the kingdom blessing comes through mourning just look at the next half of matthew chapter 5 verse 4. blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted that's my second point for this morning in the kingdom blessing comes through mourning because in the kingdom comfort is coming comfort is coming this is good i want you to notice that in the second half of that verse it's in the passive voice blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted when something is in the past a voice that means that the subject is not doing the thing but instead the subject is having the thing done to it so in other words comfort cannot be self-produced comfort in the midst of mourning has to come from the outside this is countercultural why because so often in the midst of mourning we look inward instead of outward so often in the midst of mourning and grief do we run to things like self-help we say okay i see that things are not working that the way that they should so let me get myself together let me do this let me do that self-help has limitations because no matter how much talent you have no matter how many things you know no matter your financial status we weren't built to go through life alone self-help breeds isolation but if it's not self-help maybe it's self-esteem if self-help is the practice self-esteem is the theory so we look inward and we say i need to engage in positive self-talk i am good enough i do have it within me according to scripture no you don't the heart is desperately wicked who could know it there is no good thing in me that is in my flesh self-esteem has limitations because it's an illusion at some point reality begins to set in that we're not as good as we thought we were if it's not self-help if it's not self-esteem maybe it's self-pity when the difficulties in life come the problem gets bigger and bigger and bigger so all of a sudden that's the only thing that we can see we don't see how victory is possible we begin to think of ourselves as victims of our circumstances so we throw in the towel comfort cannot come from within comfort in the midst of mourning has to come from without and my bible says that i look my eyes unto the hills and where does my help come from my help comes from the lord who created the heavens and the earth the god who has the stars fixed in the heavens the god who set the mountains in their place the god who made the seas in the sky and all that is in them that is the god who's the god of all comfort who comforts us in our affliction that is the god that we serve that may be well and good but how does he provide it if i say to you on this sunday morning that comfort is accessible in the midst of mourning but i don't tell you how you could get it and i've left you no better off than when you first came in so how does god provide comfort and blessing in the midst of mourning there's a few ways he does that but i'll just give us three for the sake of time one way that god provides comfort in the midst of mourning is by sending other christians the bible says in second corinthians chapter 7 verses 6 to 7 when paul is in the midst of despair but god who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of titus so when these believers were in the midst of despair god sent another christian listen i understand trust me i understand that sometimes when you're going through something and you see the wrong person coming you say uh-uh i want to talk to them i get it trust me i get it let me tell you this for every one person that's like that there's 10 more in god's church that could speak truth into your life that can come alongside you in the midst of difficulty so are you involved in christian community here's another way that god provides comfort the bible says in psalm 119 76 let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant one of the ways that god comforts his people is by giving us his promises it's so easy in the midst of despair to run to bad information in the midst of despair we are susceptible to the lies of the enemy but when we open up our bibles and see what god has declared to be right true and good that gives us an anchor for the soul the word of god is true the word of god is powerful the word of god is effective the word of god is a solid rock upon which we can stand but here's the third way and if i'm honest this is the way that i get excited about the most not only does god send other christians not only does god comfort us with his promises but god also comforts us with a future hope the bible says in isaiah chapter 61 verses 1 to 3 about the messiah the spirit of the lord god is upon me because the lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our god to comfort all who mourn to grant to those who mourn in zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes the oil of gladness instead of mourning the garment of praise instead of a faint heart that they may be called oaks of righteousness the planting of the lord that he may be glorified scripture speaks about a day in the future where the son of man will crack the sky where the lord jesus himself will make straight everything that's been crooked where the lord jesus himself will bring in perfect peace perfect righteousness perfect justice and on that day every tear will be dry on that day there will be no more morning on that day because the bridegroom will be with us there'll be no more grief we have access to this kind of comfort in part today but a day is coming where it will be full as we look to the future we have hope in the present for me this isn't theoretical 2020 has been a hard year but 2017 was my 2020. it was that year when my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer and it was that year where i gave the hardest sermon that i've ever had to give because it was at my mom's funeral in that time in that season i had never seen my mom so weak before i had never seen her so vulnerable before i had never heard her cry the way that she did on a daily regular basis but it was in that season that god sent other christians the church came alongside me and my family in ways that i will be eternally grateful for it was in that season where the word of god took on a whole new meaning not because the meaning had changed but because there were some things that i was finally able to understand the word of god wasn't theoretical it wasn't an idea it was a tangible promise on which i can hold i could talk with the doctors they will give some comfort but i could also listen to jesus and his promises are sure but as my mom suffered i was constantly reminded of the hope of the gospel that there is a day coming where she won't be in any more pain there is a day coming where her and i will be reunited there is a day coming we'll laugh together we'll talk together i don't know what all the rules are like in heaven as far as the things that we can remember in this life but i know that there's a day coming where maybe we'll get to say hey you remember that time you were diagnosed with cancer your body began to fail god exposed sin in my heart exposed all kind of stuff that came to the surface that we had to work on but by god's grace and through the power of his spirit and through the truth of his word we got closer together more so than we ever had before do you remember that was in that season that you gave your life to jesus that you joined the church that even though you were wasting away outwardly on the inside you were more beautiful than you had ever been do you remember that season god is the god of all comfort in that season of life even though it was hard hardest sermon i ever had to give that was one of the most blessed times that i had ever been in because my intimacy with god was at a level that it wasn't before i saw god move in ways that i had never seen so the same comfort that i was blessed with in that time i testify before all of you today is the same comfort that's available to you in the midst of affliction amen at this time i want to bow in prayer and i want to open up the floor for anyone who knows that they need god's comfort if you're someone in the room maybe you haven't mourned over sin before maybe you haven't recognized that sin is a breach with god maybe for the first time you feel brokenness over sin i'd invite you to come or maybe you're someone who needs encouragement you need someone to talk to i'd invite you to come we have encourages all around the room invite you to come and have someone to talk to maybe you're looking for a church home there's not a community of believers that you're involved with i'd invite you to come father we thank you that you're a god of comfort lord we thank you for the truth of the gospel it's by your grace that we're saved we're justified by faith is by your grace that we grow that we go through sanctification and it's by your grace that one day all things will be restored when we're glorified your grace is true in the past it's true in the present and it's true for the future god i ask that we would press into that grace i pray that those who are broken-hearted will find their rest respite and refuge in you and i pray that as your kingdom people we'll walk in the reality of being blessed in the midst of mourning because we know the comfort is coming it's in your son's name that we pray amen

Channel: First Baptist Woodstock

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Length: 38min 7sec (2287 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 24 2021