Matthew 5:4
As Christians you and I have probably repented of a sinful behavior the moment we accepted Christ. Sometime after that if you're like me you missed that sin and what it did for you. You see the issue is not that we have not been forgiven and its not that we are about to give into those old temptations again, it that we probably did not take the time to mourn the loss of that old lifestyle, or that old sinful behavior. To understand this better lets take a look at Matthew 5:4 as we continue to look at the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:4 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Now I don't know about you but at a time of mourning is when I feel the least blessed. Lets look at this in the Message and see if we get any other understanding from this passage.
5:4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
When I read this lots of different pictures come into my head, the story of Job loosing his family is a big one that keeps coming to mind but I am not convinced that is what Jesus is talking about here. I for one long to be comforted by Jesus. I come to Him daily and worship Him with all my heart. Would He really want me to loose everything dear to me just so I could be blessed by His love.
The answer is simple yet so hard to understand without the Holy Spirit quickening it to your heart. I see the answer as this: Yes, if what is most dear to you is your sin. You must mourn the loss of everything (most dear to your flesh) to be blessed if, holding on the sin or not mourning its loss would stand in your way of His place in your life.
When His holy fire comes to remove something from your life, mourn the passing of that old part of your life and you will find yourself comforted by the Holy Spirit who will enable you to move on and not look back. Lot's wife was unable to mourn the last chapter in her life when she and Lot fled. Because she could not mourn the loss and move on she was trapped by looking back on that life and what it offered.
One definition for mourn is "to show deep regret for something" (i.e mourning the wasted years). This definition fits with what I think scripture tells us. In this context mourning is a form of confession. In order to mourn you must acknowledge that the past was not what it should have been then the act of mourning is the confession lived out. And confession leads to repentance. Repentance leads to freedom.
So my dear brothers and sisters. When you find yourself that place where the Lord is removing the old, cleaning up the past, take the appropriate time to mourn and then let the Holy Spirit show you how to move on to victory.
Now I don't know about you but at a time of mourning is when I feel the least blessed. Lets look at this in the Message and see if we get any other understanding from this passage.
5:4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
When I read this lots of different pictures come into my head, the story of Job loosing his family is a big one that keeps coming to mind but I am not convinced that is what Jesus is talking about here. I for one long to be comforted by Jesus. I come to Him daily and worship Him with all my heart. Would He really want me to loose everything dear to me just so I could be blessed by His love.
The answer is simple yet so hard to understand without the Holy Spirit quickening it to your heart. I see the answer as this: Yes, if what is most dear to you is your sin. You must mourn the loss of everything (most dear to your flesh) to be blessed if, holding on the sin or not mourning its loss would stand in your way of His place in your life.
One definition for mourn is "to show deep regret for something" (i.e mourning the wasted years). This definition fits with what I think scripture tells us. In this context mourning is a form of confession. In order to mourn you must acknowledge that the past was not what it should have been then the act of mourning is the confession lived out. And confession leads to repentance. Repentance leads to freedom.
So my dear brothers and sisters. When you find yourself that place where the Lord is removing the old, cleaning up the past, take the appropriate time to mourn and then let the Holy Spirit show you how to move on to victory.
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