Farmerville Church of Christ

Sermon Outlines

Sermon On The Mount #4

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

By Bill Denton

INTRODUCTION

A. We are studying the Sermon on the Mount

1. The greatest single collection of the thoughts and teachings of Jesus
2. He begins with what we know as the beatitudes, which show is some important things about faith Mul
a. the beginning of faith
b. the growth or development of faith
c. the maturing of faith
d. the proving or testing of faith

3. Last week - blessed are the poor in spirit

a. basically the idea is humility
b. the attitude that causes a person to see himself in relation to God, responding by simply falling at God's feet
c. it is the attitude of the man who knows he is nothing without God

B. Keep in mind throughout the study of the beatitudes that we're talking about faith

1. If you want to be a person of faith, the beatitudes are a primer, a basic, fundamental guide to the life of faith
2. Remember Hab. 2:4 -- "... the just shall live by his faith" (NKJ)

C. The second beatitude is another part of that which must be present for faith to begin, to take root in a person's heart

1. Matt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (NKJ)
2. It is another statement of Jesus that sounds unappealing, at first
3. Yet it is essential to faith
4. We will attempt to define and explain what this means and how to use it in our own lives

I. WHAT IT MEANS TO MOURN

A. It is fair to say that there are different kinds of mourning

1. Natural mourning or sorrow

a. experienced by everyone at one point or another in life
b. Gen 23:2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. (NKJ)
c. natural sorrow is part of the healing process when we suffer devastating loss or pain

2. There is an unnatural sorrow or mourning

a. it is unnatural because it has the opposite effect from what God designed mourning to accomplish
b. unnatural sorrow is destructive rather than healing, and prevents a person from learning how to cope with the loss or pain of life
c. 2 Sam 18:33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: ""O my son Absalom-- my son, my son Absalom-- if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!'' (NKJ)
d. this is unnatural because it does not reflect either the rebellion of Absalom or the risk of David's comrades in fighting for him

3. Then there is the kind of mourning Jesus had in mind in Mt 5:4

a. may we at least say that it is not a mourning associated with the normal losses and pains of life
b. if that were what he meant, he would have no need to bring it up because all suffer from that kind of mourning
c. it is obvious that here he has a spiritual mourning in mind
d. whatever it is, it is something that goes beyond the normal experience of emotion

B. It is also fair to say that the one who mourns does so in connection to also being poor in spirit

1. Poor in spirit has to do with the realization of God and having that awareness simply lay us out at his feet
2. Without the attitude of poor in spirit, there is not reason to mourn
3. Mourning has something to do with what one discovers about himself in contrast to God

C. When a person finally gets a clear look at himself in contrast to God, there is one thing that stands out above all else

1. That God is a high and holy God, set apart in righteousness, majesty, power and wonder
2. Man is feeble, lowly, and most of all, marred by sin

D. Consider some notable responses once man realizes this truth

1. Isa 6:1-3 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ""Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!'' (NKJ)
2. Job 42:5-6 ""I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.'' (NKJ)
3. Dan 9:4-8 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, ""O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ""we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ""Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ""O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day-- to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. ""O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. (NKJ)
4. Ps 99:1-3 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved! The LORD is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name-- he is holy. (NKJ)

E. What is it, specifically, that is the cause of such mourning? Two things:

1. One's own personal sin -- for that is what separates him from this wonderful God

a. Luke 16:15 And He said to them, ""You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (NKJ)
b. Isa 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (NKJ)
c. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJ)

2. It is also a mourning because of the state of the whole world because of sin

a. what applies to each of us individually in regard to sin is multiplied by the thousands and millions of us all who share in the guilt of that sin before God
b. anyone who sees the true condition of the himself and the world is forced to experience the tremendous burden of loss and pain -- suffering a terrible state of mourning

II. YOU SEE THIS CHARACTERISTIC IN THE LIFE OF JESUS

A. There is no verse that tells us that Jesus laughed

1. It does tell us that Jesus was a man who understood the serious nature of his mission and the state of the world

a. Isa 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; he was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (NKJ)
b. John 11:33-35 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, ""Where have you laid him?'' They said to Him, ""Lord, come and see.'' Jesus wept. (NKJ)
c. Luke 19:41-44 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ""If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ""For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, ""and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.'' (NKJ)

2. If Jesus was a man of sorrows because of grief over the sins of the world, then how much more should we sorrow who bear the guilt of the sins

B. Remember, it was to provide forgiveness from sin that Jesus died on the cross

1. Acts 5:31 ""Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (NKJ)
2. Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (NKJ)

III. MOURNING IS NOT AN END IN ITSELF

A. This ability to mourn is part of the beginning of faith

1. It causes us to face honestly our condition and stand with God
2. It is a response to our inability to do anything on our own about sin
3. It is the proper response of shame and revulsion because of sin
4. It creates in us desire for God's help

B. This sorrow or mourning is designed to produce a faith response

1. First, it causes us to acknowledge the reality of sin -- confession

a. James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (NKJ)
b. I Jn 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (NKJ)

2. Second, it causes us to repent of our sins

a. 2 Cor 7:9-10 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (NKJ)
b. sorrow is not repentance, but it produces repentance

3. Thus, mourning over sin is a sorrow that enables us to acknowledge our sin by confessing it, and to repent of our sin by turning away from it

CONCLUSION

A. When is the last time you sorrowed over the situation of the world?
B. When is the last time you sorrowed over your own sins?
C. Only those who mourn are in touch with the reality of sin and its destructive force in their lives
D. Mourners are ready for a solution to sin -- open to God -- open to Jesus
E. Invitation

Copyright © 1995, Bill Denton. Permission granted to use sermon outlines for personal study and preparation of sermons, Bible classes or other teaching format. Sermons may not be reprinted in any form without written permission of the author.

Additional Resources

Sermon on the Mount Index
CrossTies Home Page

You can reach me at:
BillDenton@crossties.org