Title 悲しむ人?
Contents
2009. 10. 18 Blessed are those who mourn
Text: Matthew 5:4
In today's text, Jesus uses a paradox to present a new interpretation of 'Blessed are those who mourn'.
In other words, the text is not simply of a nature to shed tears in pessimism, but to mourn with the joy of reversal.
It seems that living as a Christian in Japan can be replaced by living in denial of TV.
In other words, too many programs on the air encourage eating, drinking and playing.
if you look at it,
‘Ah, I wish I had tried that delicious thing… … !’
‘Oh, if I could go on a trip to that wonderful hot spring… … !’
‘Ah, if only I could live in that luxurious house… … !’
‘Ah, me too… … Oh me too... … It was tempting me to repeat '.
Wasn't it?
Someone I know said he was an 'Epicurean'.
Epicureans value pleasure. Of course, it's not just a pleasure... …
Many people in the world do not hesitate to use substances for pleasure.
Pleasure-providing services are booming.
Commercialistic advertisements that penetrate such desires consistently promote and promote the false belief that pleasure is happiness. That's why I encourage you to spend more for your pleasure.
It is tempting to say that it is too unfair to live once and go through life, to have a sad face, and to leave after suffering only.
That's why today's young people like to enjoy pleasant and sensual things, and tend to reject things that are troublesome and sad.
But do they really find peace and rest in the pleasures they seek?
It never is. There is only a deeper emptiness and emptiness. Therefore, it is said that there are not many young people who resort to drugs to fill the void.
When I heard the news that a lot of drugs were circulating in Japanese university districts, I felt mourning in my heart.
The Bible says, “Blessed are those who mourn.”
It is understandable to say that those who pursue pleasure and pleasure are blessed.
Jesus does not teach that the pursuit of pleasure leads to happiness in life.
Rather, Jesus teaches us to weep with those who weep and to have a heart of mourning.
But this is because Jesus, who was the one who mourns greatly, said that blessed are those who mourn.
We need to pay attention and listen.
In the world, the righteous live with a lot of suffering. It's a world full of mourning.
This 'mourn' translated into English 'mourn' uses the word 'pendeo' in the original Greek.
This pendeo 'mourning' is not just about sadness or suffering.
A powerful word used to express sorrow and lamentation is this pendeo mourning.
Therefore, the essence of this mourning is not man-centered mourning, but God-centered mourning.
So today, while carefully examining this 'content of mourning', I pray in the name of the Lord that we may share grace together.
First, mourning shows that there is mourning in the heart of repentance for our own sins.
This comes from deep sorrow and thorough repentance for the sin that separated God and man.
It is a mourning as a sorrow for moving toward godliness and holy character of a child of God.
Mourning is a heart that only those who realize the grace of the precious blood of Christ Jesus and grieve for their sins before God can have mourning.
These people are the ones who completely turn away from the wrong habits that they seldom break even though they know they are sinful.
They are ashamed of their sins so far and have become completely new creatures through the merits of the blood of Christ.
Psalm 32:3 When I did not vomit, my bones were withered from groaning all day long.
It is mourning that David finds his sin and wets his pillow, wets his bed, and weeps.
The pain that comes when you discover your desperate self when you repent, this is mourning.
'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.'
God does not turn away from the prayers of the saints who mourn for their sins and repent.
In the attitude of mourning for sins, believers must first have penitential mourning for their sins.
And let's pray. Whether prayers are answered or not... … . !
Grief for the sins you have committed and the desperate struggle to escape from these sins can be painful. A person who is addicted to gambling or drugs never easily becomes a new person.
When I came to Japan, there was one thing that made me grieve for the suffering Koreans who came here first.
I heard that there are many people who seem to be making money through hard work, gambling, or even living in pachinko at all. It hurt my heart so much.
It hurts my heart to know that they are working hard and earning money... … However, when I heard the story that I was living in debt, spending all my money on gambling and pachinko, rather than saving money, I burst into tears.
When you come to Japan, you probably didn't come to Japan for that... … So my body and mind were broken and I cried as I watched people addicted to the sin of forgetting their hopes for tomorrow.
and lamenting the sins of their habit.
We must become saints who look back on their sinful hearts and mourn before God all the time.
Second, compassion for the suffering of others, this is the heart of mourning.
The tears of pain and sensitivity to the misfortunes of others are the saints who weep together with those who weep as Jesus spoke of.
In Luke 23:28, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for you and your children.” This is mourning.
When I was young, when I went to summer Bible school, the church was full of local children.
But now Korea is different. There are a lot of young people in churches these days.
The thinning of the youth who will shoulder the future of Christianity means that the future of the church is not very optimistic. Many churches say that secondary schools are disappearing. The number of Sunday School students has also decreased significantly.
Do you have a mourning heart weeping for my children? The Lord is looking for those who mourn now.
The tears of those who weep for themselves are weak tears, but those who mourn for others are strong tears. Tears that lead to intercessory prayer.
To these saints, Jesus is promising heavenly comfort and eternal comfort.
They will certainly be comforted in heaven like Lazarus in Luke 16:25.
Heavenly happiness is for them to be comforted completely and forever.
All tears from our eyes are washed away.
Heaven will indeed be a heaven for those who weep and go out to sow seeds.
Because heaven will be a place where the seeds sown with tears of mourning will be reaped with joy in return.
Third, pain and sorrow belonged to God.
We can see that mourning begins with God.
When a man made in God's image sinned, God felt the great pain of being torn.
And he used various methods to restore those who had sinned, but he never returned to God.
So, as a last resort, He made a plan to save us through the life of Jesus Christ.
So, even when Jesus was crucified, God felt great pain.
Just as the veil of the sanctuary was torn, God's heart was torn as well.
Sometimes I love so much that I feel pain.
When a loved one is in crisis, we don't have many options.
When we fail to hold on to them, and thus when a loved one suffers, there is often little we can do other than to share the pain together in silence.
But today, God is telling us that there will be blessings of comfort to those who suffer.
God blesses those who weep. what kind of blessing
The comfort God gives is ‘Shalom’. It is the peace that God gives.
The word of God's eternal promise is comforting. The blessings prepared for me in heaven are basic
First, he wipes the tears from my eyes and comforts me so that there are no more tears.
The blessing that God gives is above the heavens that cannot be obtained in this world.
The pain that comes when you desperately discover yourself when you repent, this is mourning.
O wretched man I am, the Apostle Paul's heart of mourning for his weak sinful nature,
It is also mourning that Peter heard the rooster crow and ran outside and wept bitterly.
I mourn the heartbreak that the Sunday School is gradually declining,
Seeing the indifferent faces who turn away from the tract, the heart aches and mourning
When young people leave the church, they are deeply saddened and grieved.
Whether there are tears of mourning for children, tears of mourning for those who leave the church... .?
When you mourn like this, it means, ‘You will be comforted.’ Such a person is a blessed person. You will receive the comfort of the Lord. We are saying that we are blessed because it is not the comfort that the world gives us, but the comfort that God gives us.
Everyone, have you heard of 'dry eye syndrome'?
Dry eye syndrome is a condition in which the eyes become dry and difficult to produce tears.
If you have dry eye syndrome, you may need artificial tears.
An emotionally rich person sheds tears. When you suffer from emotional dryness, your tears don't come out well.
It was Confucian thinking and education that taught me that it was shameful to weep.
A heart that sheds tears and mourns deeply is never shameful or weak.
I also remember that Jesus shed tears at the scene of sorrow when he was sad.
There is one word that comes to mind when I meditate on this ‘mourning’.
A man should only cry three times in his life. I was taught, and I absolutely cannot agree with this statement.
Christianity urges us to cry a lot and mourn a lot for our neighbors for our children for this generation.
A person who thinks he is good cannot reach this heart of mourning.
Mourning comes when we humble ourselves in humility. Please believe that the saints who mourn will meet God.
John 16:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will be sad, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
James 4:9 Mourn and mourn and weep; turn your laughter into mourning, and your joy into sorrow.
The Bible commands us to ‘mourn’ in many places like this.
Are you mourning?
Have you ever cried and mourned before God? When was that?
Like Peter who heard the rooster crow and ran away and repented with tears, let me become a mourning Christian.
Let's become a Christian who imitates Hannah's mourning as she earnestly prayed so that the faith of my children would grow soundly.
Let's accept the pain of our neighbors who are suffering as our own and become mourning Christians who weep together with those who weep.
Let's become Christians who mourn with tears at the cold back faces of the Japanese who pass by the tract.
Become such a mourner and live in the true comfort and peace of the Lord.
I pray in the name of the Lord that all the members of Akashi Church will become well.