We had another great Sunday at @GFchuch. We had the privilege of having Gina Cooper with us again this past Sunday. She has an amazing heart for authentic worship and it is always a joy to have her lead us.
Our Children's Ministry Team, The Yard, has been working on some new ideas and how we will be implementing those things over the next few months. We are excited about our Promotion Sunday coming up in August, as well as some other "family oriented" events. Stay tuned for more information about what is happening in "The Yard"
Our Students will be meeting this evening, Tuesday June 29th for a cook-out @The Browns (yes, my house). I love spending time with students and hearing about what God is doing in them, to them, and through them. We will be looking at a few new things for our Student Ministry and how we can implement those into the life of our church.
On Sunday mornings, we have been walking through the 5th Chapter of Matthew. We are in the middle of a series over The Beatitudes and we looked at verse 4 this week. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted". Here are my notes and a portion of my research for the sermon this past Sunday.
The Beatitudes part3
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mournfulness is not being:
* perpetually gloomy
* downtrodden
* downhearted
* boring
* depressing Christians that trip over their faces!
* It is not being full of self-pity and weeping continually.
There are nine words within the New Testament used for the word 'mourning'. But the word that is used in verse 4 is the strongest and most descriptive word that you can use. It's found in Genesis 37 verse 34. it describes Jacob's sorrow and mournfulness over his son Joseph who had died. The story tells us about how his brothers took him and they cast him into a pit, and they took his beloved coat of many colors and they splattered it with blood, brought it back to his father and said: 'Your beloved son, he's dead now'.
The scriptures say that he mourned - and the word that is used here is the most descriptive word.
It's the word that's used in Mark chapter 16 and verse 10, where the women who had been to the tomb after the Lord Jesus had rose from the dead, they came back to the disciples and they told that He was risen - and they found them mourning and weeping
This is not simply cheerlessness, this is not simply difficulties in life, this is not only bereavement - because bereavement is a natural sorrow. This type of mourning that we can have at times are unnatural- it is spiritual sorrow.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. ~ Psalm 32:3-5
Spurgeon said: 'The best of men are men at best, and apart from the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of divine grace, hell itself does not contain greater monsters than you and I might become'!
Do we see the sorrow of our sin?
Do you know some of the reasons why we don't see it?
* our love for sin.
* despair.
* conceit.
* presumption.
* procrastination.
Psalm 10:4 "The wicked are to proud to seek God; God is in none of their thoughts."
Romans 7:24 "What a wretched man I am!"
Look at Paul's words:
Romans 7:7-24
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."[b] 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
When you look to the cross you shall be comforted.
If you mourn for your sin, you will be comforted
......what that comfort means, is forgiveness.
look at the story of the lost son (prodigal son) in Luke 15
specifically verses :: 17-20
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.
.....the mourning of Christians referred to in this beatitude is not because of financial loss, terminal sickness, the death of loved ones, loneliness, a divorce, or some rejection being experienced. Christians mourn because they realize that they have sinned against a holy God and have brought dishonor to his name
10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
~2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow causes us to loathe, despise, and refuse or reject having to do with sin, and this leads the believer to sincerely repent of those sins. Those who experience Godly sorrow truly forsake sin and turn to Jesus
The person that mourns is the one who recognizes that he is a sinner before God. Such a person mourns over his various sins because he recognizes that not only do his sins greatly hurt our heavenly Father. This miserable, but repentant sinner, realizes that only through the grace of God does he have forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus says such a person is blessed, and there is no greater blessing than to receive such divine approval. Those who are blessed in this way by God will see God and dwell with him forever.
If you missed the service this past Sunday, you can watch it here on GatewayTV
Mark Your Calendars::
~July 16-17, 2010 Father/Son Retreat
~August 20-21, 2010 Women of Faith Conf.
ConnectGroup Schedule::
TuesNite @ 7pm @ The Snow's
WedNite @ 7pm @ The Brown's
SunMorn @ 915am @ GFchurch
Places To Sign Up::
Father/ Son Weekend July 16-17, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX. (All guys welcome to attend)
I love our church
I love our people
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing to us
I love what He is doing through us
I love that He is not done with us
No comments:
Post a Comment