Elements City Church
The Beatitudes set forth the blessings God gives to those he is working in—blessings given not as a reward for our merit, but as a gift of His grace. Here is a Christian value system and God’s kingdom ethical standard—all of which are often at odds with those of the non-Christian world in which humanity functions. Blessed are those that recognize their spiritual bankruptcy and thus their need for dependency upon Christ and his gifts of grace. They will experience the God-life and a true good life.
Matthew 5:4 CSB
Jesus’ teaching on what it means to find godly happiness and the God-lived life! And that the God-life is better than what the world tries to push as the good life!
The Sermon (Matthew ch. 5-7) is probably the best-known part of the teachings of Jesus. It is also perhaps the least understood.
It is Jesus’ own description of what he wanted his followers to be and do.
Here is a Christian value system, and God’s kingdom ethical standard—all of which are often at odds with those of the non-Christian world in which humanity functions.
The Beatitudes set forth the blessings God gives to those he is working in—blessings given not as a reward for our merit, but as a gift of His grace.
Quote:
“The Beatitudes simply cannot be ‘good news’ if they are understood as a set of ‘how-to’s’ for achieving blessedness. They would only amount to a new legalism. They would impose a new brand of Phariseeism, a new way of closing the door - — some new possibilities for the human engineering of righteousness.”
~Dallas Willard
series takeaway:
The pursuit of the good life (that this world says to seek) will ultimately let you down, but the pursuit of the God-life will lead to real joy and true blessing.
today, we’re examining the next phrase that Jesus utters in the Beatitudes that deals with sadness… a topic we don’t normally like to sit with, we try to get out of those feelings as fast as possible…but maybe there’s something here for us to learn from.
Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).
=there’s something about learning to mourn, sitting with grief…and not rushing on
Jesus used the Greek word penthéō (mourn). Penthéō is the strongest word for mourning or lamenting in the New Testament. It expresses loud crying, as if someone is wailing in agony over sin, suffering, injustice, and human tragedy.
It describes a person whose heart is broken by what breaks God’s heart.
Lamenting is “holy hurt.”
healthy lamenting is a pain that pushes us deeper into faith, hope, and love. Deeper into my faith in Jesus and his redemptive purposes.
Deeper into hope - into knowing that one day all things will be made new. Deeper into loving God and loving people.
Mourning is inevitable.
Nobody likes the experience of mourning, but sooner or later everyone must pass through it. By declaring a blessing on those who mourn, Jesus indicates that grief is a normal part of the Christian experience—it is universal.
In fact, it was Jesus who said,
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 nlt
Mourning is spiritual.
Jesus promises a blessing to those who mourn, because mourning is spiritual and it’s in the anguish of grief where we can experience a growing intimacy with God, maybe better, richer and deeper than in any other time.
Apostle Paul talks about the participation with Christ in suffering
Ephesians 3:10 "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings…"
Sometimes we mourn and grieve over the sinful actions of others!
Sometimes we are to mourn and grief over the sinful actions of ourselves!
Repentance is not a ‘one and done’ kind of thing in the life of following Jesus. There’s to be a Rhythm of Repentance - mourning over what breaks God’s heart - IN ME
In me: is mourning the ways I miss the mark, and fall short of the calling God has for me.
Philippians 1:27
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.
Mourning what’s broken around WE: is mourning the ways that what WE DO, minimizes or causes others to be turned off or pushed away from the beauty of Christ!
Mourning the brokenness, injustices, hurts that swirl around us in society. Where things are NOT like they should be!
The God-life is found lamenting the brokenness of the world, longing for the way things ought to be, and helping God make others’ lives better.
are we allowing ourselves to sit with the grief or to be made uncomfortable with mourning the things that are wrong within me, the things wrong around WE?
Instead of just trying to always ignore it, escape it or push it away?
We’re not to just RUSH AWAY FROM MOURNING —
there’s something there for us with Christ!
Mourning is inevitable, but it is also temporary.
As we navigate through grief, as we mourn - God provides comfort in a host of ways — and then we’re to leverage that comfort and pass it along:
We get to be used by God to distribute His comfort - through serving others…
2 Corinthians ch. 1:3-4
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
==some of your greatest ministry oppt. will come out of your deepest pain.
God might leverage that challenging experience you had, in order to launch your passion, purpose and potential to impact others!
Final question:
Q). Does your heart break by what breaks God’s heart?
-within you?
-within the world around you?
-is the compassion of Christ growing in your heart more and more?
We'll see you back at Elements next weekend or online as we continue our series on the Beatitudes and how Jesus said to find and pursue happiness and the blessed life!