A sermon on Matthew 5:4 - blessed are they that mourn

 

1)      Mt. 5:4 – READ

a)      Rom. 3:10 says none is righteous.

b)      Rom. 3:23 says "all have sinned" and fallen short of God's glory.

2)      God says He wants us to realize we have broken His law. 

3)      When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God talked to them about what they had done.

4)      God wanted this couple to face the fact that they had broken His law.

5)      The Law of Moses was given to help people understand realize they were lawbreakers.

6)      God sent prophets to help people realize they had broken his laws.

7)      John the Baptist came to tell people they were transgressors.

8)      Jesus came to say man is so guilty of breaking God's laws, He had to give Himself as a sacrifice.

9)      It takes "poverty of spirit" (Mt. 5:3) to say "I am guilty of breaking God's laws."

10)  When people are willing to take this first step, they are not far from the second step.

11)  When we know we have broken God's laws, we can then "mourn" over our sin.

12)  If we do not mourn over sin, we are not going to make it to heaven.

 

THE IDEA THAT WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE AND MOURN OVER SIN IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM HOW OUR WORLD THINKS. 

 

a)      There is a time and place for fun and there is a time and place for mourning.

b)      God wants people to step back to see their spiritual condition and then react to it.

2)      There are nine different words used in the Greek New Testament to describe mourning.

3)      The strongest of these 9 words is the one Jesus chose to deliver this B-attitude.

4)      This word is so strong it describes mourning over the dead.

a)      When was the last time we ever grieved over a sin?

b)      Some grieve over a wrong because they got caught.

c)      This is the "sorrow of the world" and it has no spiritual value (2 Cor. 7:10)?

5)      When was the last time that sin pricked our hearts like we find in Acts 2:36?

 

THE B-ATTITUDE IN MATTHEW 5:3 (POVERTY OF SPIRIT) IS A MATTER OF BALANCE. 

    

1)      The balance we need to associate with Mt. 5:3 is also found in Mt. 5:4.

2)      Jesus did not mean Christians always need to always feel sorrowful.

3)      Some look at themselves and cannot see very much other than sin.

4)      Others look at themselves or others and don't see much to be sad about; this is also wrong.

5)      If we look at ourselves in a thoughtful and reflective way, we will find many flaws.

6)      If we look at our world, we also find many things that can discourage us.

7)      Sin creates much sadness for us and others.

8)      There is good news.

9)      As bad and as sad as sin it, better times are coming.

10)  Those who mourn over sin will be comforted.

11)  A time is coming when the saved will sin no more.

12)  A time is coming when the sin that surrounds the saved will disappear.

13)  A time is coming when sin and sinners will be bundled up and contained in the place called hell.

14)  If we are willing to recognize, mourn over, and deal with sin now, there is a great, great reward.

 

Android phone users: Get the FREE "daily devotionals" app from "abiblecommentary."  This can be found in your Android market or this link:  https://market.android.com/details?id=com.abiblecommentary.devotionals