Behold the King

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 32:1-11 – New Testament Reading: James 4:1-10 

Behold the King
“Life in the Kingdom of God” # 4
Matthew 5:4

   In His first official sermon, Jesus outlined the nine basic characteristics of the citizens of His kingdom. In what we call “The Beatitudes,” Jesus made it clear these nine qualities:

• Are not humanly achievable – man can practice them, but he will never achieve them until he is born again.
• Are only divinely obtainable – they are the outward manifestations of the inward work of the grace of God.
• Are progressive in their manifestation – the ability to express each attitude comes from the spiritual maturity of the one before it, beginning with being “poor in spirit”; recognizing our inability to make ourselves acceptable unto God through our religious efforts and casting ourselves upon His grace and crying out for His mercy.
• Are describing a way of life that is completely contrary to the ways of the world and that requires a complete, spiritual transformation.

In the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus described the five essential requirements to be “born again.”

• Shamefully admit our sins and our need for a Savior.
• Humbly beg God for His forgiveness.
• Gratefully acknowledge and receive Jesus as our Savior.
• Unconditionally surrender unto Jesus as our Lord.
• Boldly identify with Jesus and those who love Him.

In the second beatitude, Jesus said “mourning” was the key that unlocked the door to eternal happiness. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

• Once we see our sins from God’s perspective, we cannot help but mourn, not only for our sin of unbelief in God but also for the sins we committed against others that proved our need for a Savior.
• When God sees us mourning over our sins with “godly sorrow,” He will send the Comforter – the Holy Spirit, and His ministering angels, who will turn our sorrow into joy.

1.  The Proper Place of Mourning – Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn.”

Everything Jesus taught was a spiritual paradox – totally contrary to the accepted norms.

• Mark 8:35 – to save your life, you must lose it.
• Mark 9:35 – to be first, you must be last.
• John 12:24 – to bear fruit, the grain of wheat must die.
• Matthew 19:29 – to be fully rewarded in heaven, the disciple must be willing to give up everything he has on this earth.

It was the same with the “beatitudes” – they were totally contrary to the way of life the people had been taught.

• By saying people had to become “poor in spirit” to enter into the Kingdom of God, Jesus was saying they had to renounce everything they had done to try to earn or deserve their place in it.
• By saying people had to “mourn” over their sins to be comforted, Jesus was saying their sacrificial system was not sufficient to cancel out God’s judgment of their sin.
• Everyone will mourn over their sins:
  • Those who mourn over their sins today will be comforted forever, knowing those sins have been forgiven.
  • Those who laugh at their sins today will never be comforted, knowing they will face the penalty of those sins forever.
• Healthy mourning – the God-given ability to weep over the sad circumstances of life; to release the pain of grief, so we will not be destroyed by it.
• Unhealthy mourning – the Satan-inspired grieving over the issues of life we cannot change; to engulf us with grief, anger, and resentment; so we will be destroyed by it.

2.   The Proper Case for Mourning – Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn.”

In 2 Cor. 7:8-10, Paul identified two kinds of sorrow:

• Godly sorrow that brings repentance which leads to salvation and everlasting life.
• Worldly sorrow that rejects repentance which leads to eternal separation from God and eternal death.
• When a believer enters into the kingdom of God, sees his sin from God’s perspective, realizes he is helpless to do anything to change his condition, and casts himself upon the grace of God, with mourning, God will send the Holy Spirit, along with His ministering angels to comfort him.
• The more a believer sees God’s righteousness, the more he sees his unrighteousness, and the more he mourns.
• The more a believer mourns over his sins, the more comfort he receives from God.
• According to Psalm 32 and 51, God will keep reminding the believer of his un-confessed sin, not to condemn him, but to lead him to confession and repentance, restoration and reconciliation; to sanctify him; to make him a useful vessel of honor and glory to the King.

3.  The Proper Grace for Mourning – Matthew 5:4 – “For they shall be comforted.”

• According to Psalm 32 and 51, when David released his deep grief over his sins, the toxins that had poisoned his body were removed, and he felt like living again.
• God promises comfort to those who mourn, not begging Him for forgiveness, but because of His forgiveness.
• Un-confessed sin is the greatest hindrance to the work of evangelism through the Church today because it robs the believer of the “joy” of the Lord, which is his strength, and it diminishes his intimacy with God, which is the source of his power.
• Therefore, believers should live in a constant state of repentance/contrition by daily asking God to give them:
  • A soft heart – making them deeply sensitive to the smallest sin in their life and in the life of those they love, including the Church.
  • A contrite heart – breaking their heart with those things that break God’s heart, and mourning over those sins until they receive God’s comfort.
  • A clean heart – forgiving them of their sins and cleansing them of all unrighteousness.
  • A willing heart – learning from the Scriptures, how God used this experience of “mourning” to sanctify every person He used in a mighty way.