Turning Tears into Telescopes | Part 2

Why does Jesus say, Blessed are those who mourn?

Listen Welcome to Love Worth Finding. In part one of today's message, Adrienne Rogers boldly proclaimed, I believe it's time for America to be on her face before God. This is a time to weep. We've been led to believe that a life without tears is a blessed life.

We do all we can to avoid pain. When in fact, Jesus himself was a man of sorrows. He is the one who teaches us how to turn our tears into telescopes.

Now, if you have your Bible turned to Matthew chapter five, beginning in verse four, as Adrienne Rogers shares the powerful conclusion of turning tears into telescopes. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Now, may I say that the world would never say this. The world would never say blessed are they that mourn.

The world would say just the opposite. Blessed are those who never have to cry. Blessed are those who never mourn. We have an idea that if we could go through life without ever crying, without any sorrow, without any pain, without any heartache, without any moan and groan, it would be wonderful, but not so. Blessed, blessed, Jesus says, are they that mourn.

Now I want to make something clear here. However, Jesus is not talking about the mourners. He's not talking about the miserable, the melancholy, the sad sacks, the crybabies of this world.

He's not talking about the, the sadnesses of life and the sorrows of life per se. The word here, blessed are they that mourn is the deepest word for sorrow. It's the word for the grief that you feel at the graveside of a loved one. It's a strong word, a word for lament. I think it's described in Psalm 34 and verse 18, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, of a broken heart. And he saves such that be of a contrite spirit. That's what he's talking about, my dear friend. May I put it to you bluntly?

May I ask you a question? Jesus was a man of sorrows. The most poignant verse in all of the Bible, I think, the shortest in our English Bible is this, Jesus wept. Do the things that break the heart of Jesus break yours?

That's the question. Do the things that break the heart of Jesus, do they break yours? Blessed are they that mourn. We have a dry-eyed church in a hell-bent world. One of the things that we have learned not to do is to mourn. When we see that we are spiritually bankrupt in our hands, we have nothing to offer to God, but that even our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of a righteous and a holy God. It is then that we mourn.

What do we have to weep over, my dear friend? First of all, there is the deceptive power of sin. Many of us dare realize how deceitfully wicked our hearts are. Our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

That's what God's Word says. But not only the deceptive power of sin, but my dear friend, the defiling power of sin. Do you know what sin does? Sin takes these things and it perverts them.

The beautiful things, the precious things, the things that we behold and the things that we hold. Sin has a way of perverting these things. And may I tell you, the devil is a pervert. The devil has no raw materials.

He takes the good things of God and he perverts them. But now watch, there is the deceiving power of sin. There's the defiling power of sin. There's the destroying power of sin.

Look at it. Continue to read, look in verse 30 here. And he said, if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Now what is Jesus Christ teaching? Is Jesus Christ telling you, my dear friend, is he telling you that if you want to go to heaven, cut off your right hand, pluck out your right eye? That's not what he's saying. What is Jesus Christ saying? He's saying, my dear friend, it is better to be a maimed saint on your way to heaven than to be a healthy sinner on your way to hell.

That's what he's saying. He's not saying that cutting off your hand is gonna get you to heaven. Plucking out your eye is not gonna get you to heaven. Christ died for those sins.

But I'm telling you, my dear friend, it would be better for you to go limping into heaven than it would be for you to go dancing into hell. Sin destroys. It was Jesus Christ who spoke here in the Sermon on the Mount. He spoke, dear friend, of the deceiving power of sin. It's in the heart of the defiling power of the sin, of the destroying power of sin. And when you really see that, and I can't make you see it, all I can do is preach it.

I pray God, the Holy Spirit of God will make you see it. But when that touches your heart, and when that gets out of your head down into your heart, when you realize it was your sin that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, your sins, the nails that held him there, your hard heart, the hammer that drove those nails, when you see that sin is an affront to a righteous and a holy God, when you see that sin deceives, it defiles, it destroys, then you'll understand why Jesus said, blessed are they that mourn. But I want you to see the second thing, not only the guilt that convicts us, but I want you to see the grief, the grief that consumes us. Again, I want you to know that the word here for grief is not an ordinary word. There are many words for sorrow in the Bible. This is the deepest, the most poignant word for sorrow.

It means to lament, to be consumed with grief. And again, I want to say this is the missing note in the modern church. Many people are baptized pagans.

They have united with churches like they join country clubs, but they have never been broken over their sin. Let me give you a verse that you need to ponder on. It's a verse that perhaps you need to read over and over again. It's found in 2 Corinthians 7 in verse 10. 2 Corinthians 7 in verse 10, for godly sorrow worketh repentance.

That's the missing note. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. There are two kinds of sorrow, my dear friend, and Jesus here is talking about godly sorrow.

Blessed are they that mourn. Now, what is godly sorrow? It is not mere regret. Many of us have done things that we regret and we're sorry, but that, my dear friend, is not godly sorrow, remorse. As a matter of fact, remorse without repentance can be a dangerous, dangerous thing.

Regret is primarily in the mind. Remorse is in the mind and in the heart, but remorse, my dear friend, compared to repentance, remorse is a dead-end street. Repentance is a highway. Remorse looks at the sin and its consequences. Repentance looks beyond the sin to Calvary. A person filled with remorse is one who loves his sins and hates himself at the same time.

Have you ever seen anyone like that? He loves his sin, but he hates himself because he can't quit. That's remorse. A person who has repented is a person who hates his sin because he loves his savior. That's the difference. Know we have many people who've waltzed down our churches with regret and others have come with remorse, but oh, thank God for those who have come with repentance.

What is the difference? The Bible teaches that Judas, when he learned that he had betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and saw all that was happening, or when he became aware of the consequences of his betrayal, the Bible says with trembling fingers, he made a noose, put it around his neck and hanged himself. And he stepped from the hell that was within him to the hell that was beyond him, and he's in hell tonight. So filled with remorse that he threw the 30 pieces of silver on the floor and went out and hanged himself. But my dear friend, there was a man remorseful, but he never repented. Simon Peter, on the other hand, cursed and swore and denied the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says he went out and wept bitterly. And Simon Peter was filled not with remorse, but with repentance. When Simon Peter saw the Lord Jesus Christ, Simon Peter knew that not only have I broken his law, I have broken his heart, and that breaks my heart. And he wept bitterly. And Simon Peter was the great preacher of Pentecost because there was a godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation.

Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. True repentance. True repentance, my dear friend, and faith are heads and tails of the same coin. And David said in Psalm 51 in verse four, Psalm 51 is the record of his repentance after he'd committed adultery. Against thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judges. David said, oh God, I didn't just sin against my wife and against my children and against my body and against the kingdom, even against your law. But God, I sinned against you. I hurt you, my God, I sinned against you. And then David said in Psalm 51 in verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite spirit. A broken and a contrite spirit. Thou will not despise, oh God.

Have you come to that place? I don't mean just broken over your sin, I mean broken from your sin. I don't mean just what your sin has done to you, what your sin has done to God. I don't mean regret, I don't mean remorse, I mean repentance. Godly sorrow worketh repentance, not to be repented of. The sorrow of the world worketh death. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Now what we've seen, my dear friend, is the guilt that convicts us, remember that? Then the grief that is to consume us. And then the God who is to comfort us. For they shall be comforted, that's what Jesus says. And that's the only way to know the comfort of our dear Lord, they shall be comforted. Now let's look at this, they shall be comforted. Once you see the guilt and feel the grief, then you know the grace. What does it mean to be comforted?

What is that? Well, it's not a sympathetic pat on the back, there, there. That's not what it means. The word comfort is not a word filled with sympathy. It's a word filled with strength. Do you know what the word comfort means?

Our English word is very much like the Bible word. Come, meaning with, and fort, meaning strength. With strength, think of the word fortress.

Think of the word fortification, think of the word fortify. God says, I will put my strength in you. I will be your strength, I will give you comfort. You will be comforted.

Now, what does that mean? It means God's going to give you strength. Psalm 138 in verse three, in the day when I cried, notice this, when I cried, blessed are they that mourn, thou answereth me and strengthen me with strength in my soul. And how does God do this? Well, bless God through the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit. Let me give you a verse for your margin. John 14, verses 16 and 17, Jesus Christ gave us this incredible and wonderful promise. Jesus said, and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another comforter. Isn't that what we're talking about, comfort? I will pray the Father, and he will give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you.

What's he talking about? Oh, my dear friend, there's one who lives in my heart today. He is the Holy Spirit of God. He gives me that comfort. He speaks peace to my soul.

Have you ever known that comfort? I mean to be clean and clear. The Holy Spirit of God is the one to those with a broken heart, those who confess their sin. He comes with strength to say, you're forgiven, you're clean, you're pure.

You say, well, yes, but what if you sin after that? Well, I'm glad you asked because, my dear friend, listen, the Bible says in 1 John chapter two and verse one, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world, an advocate. 1 John 2, one, an advocate. Did you know that the word advocate is exactly the same word that Jesus used in John chapter 14 when he said, I'll send you another comforter? It's the Greek word, parakletos.

And it's from two words, para, meaning alongside of, like parallel lines, and kletos, kaleo, which means to call. It's someone called alongside of you. If you go into a courtroom, you get a lawyer. He comes and stands alongside of you. He says, now you let me handle this. You just be quiet. You just let me handle this. I am your lawyer.

The word comforter and the word advocate are the same word. Now, friend, that's the strength that you have. You know who the devil is? The devil is the prosecuting attorney. The Bible calls the devil, listen, the accuser of the brethren.

There's somebody who follows you around, dogs your footsteps. He writes down everything you do, my dear friend, and he sends it to heaven as a testimony against you. The devil says to God the Father, how can you let Adrian Rogers preach?

How can you let him claim to be your child? The devil says to me, that's right, you miserable failure. You've sinned, deny it. You know what I say to him?

See my lawyer, see my lawyer. He'll handle this for me. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, a comforter with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Friend, listen, let me tell you something. When you come to an honest brokenness over your sin, when you come to that place, the Holy Spirit of God gives you such comfort that your sin is forgiven. And then when you need help, when you're in jeopardy, when you fail, the Holy Spirit of God stands nigh to the broken. He is of a help, he is strength. And I know that strength day by day.

Do you? Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. He'll turn every hurt to a hallelujah.

He'll turn every tear to a telescope. It all begins when you see yourself as poor in spirit, bankrupt. When you say, oh God, it is not just what I have done, it is what I am, not just what sin has done to me, but it's what it's done to you. And oh God, with a broken heart, I repent. Not just regret, not only remorse, not just the mind, not just the heart, but the spirit, God, I repent. And God says, I forgive.

And God sends the Holy Spirit, the comforter into your heart, to give you peace and to be your advocate. My precious friend today, if you want the Lord Jesus, may I tell you that he died and paid for your sin on the cross. With his own blood, he atoned for your sin. All the weeping in the morning in the world cannot take away your sin, only the blood of Jesus can do that.

But he did die for you. And the Bible says that if you'll turn from sin to Jesus, if you'll trust him, he'll save you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that word believe doesn't mean mere intellectual belief, it's a word that means commitment and trust.

Trust him enough to commit your life to him, and he'll save you. Your sin will be forgiven. The Holy Spirit of God will enter you to give you comfort.

Heaven will be your home. Would you pray like this, oh God, I'm a sinner and I'm lost and I need to be saved and I want to be saved and Jesus, you died to save me and you promised to save me, if I would trust you, I do trust you, Jesus. Come into my heart, forgive my sin, save me, Lord Jesus. And Lord Jesus, help me not to be ashamed of you.

Give me the courage to make it public. In your name I pray, amen. And if you've prayed to receive Jesus just now, we would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our Discover Jesus page. There you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. There's a response section at the website where you can share your testimony or share how this message has impacted your life. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click the tab that says Discover Jesus.

Welcome to the family of God. We can't wait to hear from you. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, request one by the title, Turning Tears Into Telescopes. Call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Now, this message is also part of the insightful Sermon on the Mount series, The Keys to the Kingdom. For the complete collection, all eight powerful messages, including today's, call that number 1-877-LOVEGOD or go to lwf.org slash radio to order.

Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Well, have you experienced guilt for your sins? Have you experienced the consuming grief of an unrepentant life?

Have you experienced the comfort of God's grace? Thanks so much for joining us for today's program. Be sure to study with us next time as we present more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding. Well, at Love Worth Finding Ministries, our mission is to share the profound truth of the gospel so simply that anyone can understand. This year alone, we've proudly launched four new resources to help you share the only love worth finding this Christmas season. Our two new books, His Story and Discover Jesus, tell the story of our savior in a fresh and exciting way. And our two new card sets, Profound Truth Simply Stated and Names of God are the perfect gift for loved ones of all ages. For more information about these products, go to our online store at lwf.org. Thanks for your continued support and don't forget about our special calendar year-end giving opportunity. One of our Love Worth Finding friends has given a generous gift with the hope of motivating you to give above and beyond at year-end. Go to lwf.org slash radio.