Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter
5 verse 1, it's reported commonly, this is common knowledge, that
there is fornication among you and even the heathen who are
okay with fornication know this is wrong, that one should have
his father's wife And you are puffed up. Now, Paul says on five different
occasions to the Corinthians, you're puffed up. You have an
inflated view of yourself. You're filled with pride. That word is only found six times
in the New Testament. Five of them are here in Corinthians.
The other is in Colossians 2.18 when Paul says, when he speaks
of those who have a voluntary humility. I'm going to volunteer
to be humble. Are you? Doesn't work that way. And he goes on to say, the worshiping of angels, intruding
into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up. by his fleshly mind. And every other time the word
puffed up is used, it's used with regard to the Corinthians. Now, notice what he says in verse
two, and I've always known this is different. It's not the way
we would normally think. And you are puffed up and have
not rather been moved to righteous indignation. that someone like
this in your midst is not put out right now, get rid of him. That's not the language he uses.
He says, you've not rather mourned. That's a different attitude,
isn't it, than righteous indignation. Mourning, the same word with
reference to mourning over the dead. And you've not rather,
he said, hope that the one that has done this deed might be taken
from you. Not that you deal with it, but
that they might be taken from you if they continue in this. Paul says you should be mourning. Now this mourning that he uses
is the same word used in the second beatitude. Blessed are
they. Blessed by God. The Lord knows who's truly blessed.
Now I realize that this word is used quite a bit in our day.
I have people who say quite frequently to me, I'm blessed. And I hope
you are. I don't want to be, I don't know what I want to be
when I hear that, but I do know this, the Lord knows who is blessed. And he says, blessed are the
poor, blessed are they that mourn. And this is one of the most paradoxical
oxymoronic statements ever made. Put the two together. Happy are
they that mourn. Happy are they who are sad. Coupled with the Lord's statement
in Luke chapter six, verse 21, blessed are you that weep now,
for you shall be comforted. And he says, blessed or woe unto
you that laugh now. And that word woe is a sentence
of judgment. When the Lord says woe, that
means woe. Woe unto you that laugh now, you shall weep and
mourn. And the word mourn is the strongest
of the nine Greek words which express sorrow. This is the word
that's used to describe mourning over the dead. You mourn when
one is dead and you can't bring them back. Now, as long as they're
sick, there's some hope that something can be done. As long
as there's breath, there's still some hope that something can
be done. But when a loved one dies, you
mourn. There's nothing you can do to
bring them back. You're powerless to change that
event. Now, your attitude, Paul says,
about this event, this one among you who's doing that which even
a Gentile, a pagan, a heathen knows is wrong. You should be
mourning over this. Weeping over this. This would be what Paul called
in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, godly sorrow. Not the sorrow of the
world, there's plenty of that. You know in this world there's
sorrow, there's disappointment, there's discouragement, There's
trouble, mourning over the death of a loved one. Man that's born
of woman is born to trouble. As the sparks fly upward. That
was Job's assessment. If you read the Psalms of David,
you'll read much about the anguish of his soul. Much of the Psalms
are spent in that. I'm thankful for the Psalms,
aren't you? They express what we can't express ourselves, but
we feel them better than we can express them when we read the
Psalms. Paul spoke of fightings within, fears without. What a description. Inside fighting,
outside fears. over what I see taking place. But the mourning he exhorts the
Corinthians toward and the mourning of the second beatitude is the
mourning that only a believer experiences. No unbeliever experiences
this mourning over sin. Now an unbeliever mourns over
the consequences of sin. and the trouble sin brings in
their lives. There's no question about that. But it's only a believer
that mourns over the sin itself. Because only a believer really
understands what sin is in the first place. An unbeliever does
not have a true concept of what sin is in the first place. A
believer does. And this is continual. It's something
that goes on all the time. I mourn over my sin. I mourn over your sin. I mourn over sin. That's the
attitude of the believer, and that's what the Lord says. Blessed
are they that mourn. This is a state of blessedness. Now, I think of the Beatitudes. Love the Beatitudes, I'm more
amazed by the Beatitudes, you know them. Blessed are they that,
blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn, they shall be comforted. This
is the Lord's description of who's blessed. Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are you that
are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed are the pure in
heart. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed
are the peacemakers. Blessed are they who are persecuted
for righteousness. Now I want you to think about
this. None of these Beatitudes can even be grasped or understood
apart from the concept of sin. Every single one of them. Now think about this. Why are
you poor? Because your sin has made you
bankrupt. Your sin has made you void of
anything that you could recommend yourself to God with. You're
poor because of sin. Why do you mourn? You mourn over
your sin. You say with David, my sin is
ever before me. You might not be mourning before
other people, but in your heart before God, you mourn over your
sin. Why are you meek? Because you
know who God is and you know who you are, a sinner, therefore
you're meek before God. What about hungering and thirsting
after righteousness? The promise that you'll be filled.
The reason you hunger and thirst after righteousness is because
you know because of your sin you don't have any personal righteousness. And you hunger and thirst after
righteousness. What about being pure in heart?
What does that have to do with Seeing sin. It's only the pure
in heart who sees sin. If you don't have a pure heart
given to you by God, you don't even know what sin is and you
don't know what it means to mourn over sin. It's only the pure
in heart who sees sin in the first place and mourn over it.
What about blessed or the merciful? Well, because you're a sinner,
your only hope is God showing you mercy. And that's why you'll
be merciful. He's showing you mercy in your
sinfulness. What about blessing of the peacemakers?
What's that got to do with sin? Well, the peacemaker knows. that
the only peace is the peace that Christ made by the blood of his
cross. They know that, that's their message. That's the message
they wanna bring to the world. Blessed are the peacemakers. That's not just talking about
someone who's not contentious. It's good to not be contentious. It's good to be not argumentative.
But that's not talking about that. The peacemakers is the
person who preaches the gospel peace, who stands for the gospel
peace. And those who are persecuted
for righteousness sake are people who believe themselves to be
sinners and the only righteousness they have is the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That's the message they stand
for. That's the message they preach. And the world doesn't
love that message because that message takes away what they're
hoping in, their works. You see, this state a believer
is in. The state of blessedness, blessed
by God, none of those things are really grasped or understood
apart from this thing called sin. Mourning over sin. This thing of mourning over sin
is a continual state with a believer. Now he's not, he's rejoicing
at the same time. I rejoice in Christ right now
while I'm talking to you. I rejoice in everything God requires
of me. He looks to his son for, I rejoice in the beauty of Jesus
Christ. And I have reason all the time
to mourn over my sins. That's exactly what David meant
when he said, my sin. Yes, he was talking about Bathsheba,
but he was talking about more than that. He didn't just talk
about what happened with Bathsheba. He said, my sin is ever before
me. It's always there. And in our
state, as believers walking in this world, this is our state. Yes, we rejoice in Christ. Yes, we're poor in spirit. Yes,
we mourn. And this is not only a new Testament
concept. It's just like everything else
in the new Testament. It's clearly taught in the old
Testament. I've talked about Psalm 51. Turn
with me there for a moment. Psalm 51. This is David's cry of repentance.
When Nathan says to him, thou art the man, look what he says
in verse one. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me." That's the believer's attitude
towards sin. That's mourning over sin. Turn
with me to Isaiah 61. This is the passage that the
Lord used in His first sermon when He returned to Galilee you
can read about this in Luke chapter 4, but you'll recognize this
Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 The spirit of the Lord God is upon
me Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto
the meek He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim
liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them
that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, and look at this
next phrase, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion. That's speaking of the mourning
of sin, to give unto them beauty for ashes. What, what ashes? Ashes, there's no energy in ashes. To give them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Turn with me for a moment to
Ezekiel chapter 36. Now this is God's promise of
the new heart. He says in verse 26, a new heart. Ezekiel 36 verse 26, a new heart
also will I give you. Ezekiel 36, a new heart will
I give you and a new spirit will I put within you. Now included
in that, look at verse 31. When I give this new heart, then
shall you remember your own evil ways and your doings that were
not good and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities
and for your abominations. That is part of the new heart.
It's part of the new covenant. Turn with me to Zechariah, the
second to the last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah, Malachi,
then the New Testament starts, chapter 12. Verse 10, and I will pour upon
the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the
spirit of grace and of supplications. And they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth. for his only son, and shall be
in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn. In that day shall there be a
great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of hated remnant
in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn every
family apart, the family of the house of David apart, the wives
apart, the family of the house of Nathan apart, the wives apart.
You see, this is a private thing. You don't really mourn with somebody
else. This is something that goes on in your heart between
you and the Lord. It's not something you're trying
to broadcast and to show how sorrowful you are. It's what
goes on in your heart before the Lord this morning. He speaks
of, and then we read in verse 14, all the families that remain
every apartment, family apart, their wives apart in that day,
there shall be a fountain opened. There's the gospel. In that day
there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Now, turn with me to Romans 7
for a moment. This is what this morning looks
like. Now remember, he says with regard to these people. He says
you should be mourning. over the sin of this man, just
like you mourn over the sin of your own. A true, genuine mourning. Now look what Paul says in verse
14. For we know, every believer knows
this, and only the believer knows it. We know that the law is spiritual,
exceeding broad. But I am carnal, sold under sin. My mourning of sin is such that
it's like the death of someone. I can't bring them back. This
is a mourning before God over sin. Look in verse 24 of the
same chapter. Oh, wretched man that I used
to be before God saved me. No. Present tense. Just like when he says, we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal. Not I was carnal
before I was saved. You don't know you're carnal
until you are saved. Oh, wretched man that I am. Present tense. Right now, Paul,
don't you rejoice in Christ? Of course. You see, really, this
is a healthy believer. Romans 7 describes the healthy
state of a believer. If someone doesn't feel like
this, it's because they're spiritually sick. It's because they're backslidden
and hardened, or it's because they're lost. This is the feeling
of a healthy believer. This is what mourning looks like.
Paul says, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death." That word wretched means miserable, afflicted,
and tormented. And only the believer has this
attitude towards sin. Now an unbeliever has this attitude
towards Consequences of sin and the trouble it brings in their
life and the way it wrecks their lives or makes them lose their
job or wrecks their homes or whatever it might be. But a believer
mourns over sin. And that's their attitude towards
the sin in others. It's not righteous indignation. It's mourning. You actually feel
for that person because you know you're just as bad. Mourning. Now I love what the Lord said
with regard to those who mourn. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. It doesn't say they might be
comforted, or perhaps they'll be comforted. It says they shall
be comforted. comforted every single person
that mourns. They, this is the promise of
Christ. They shall be comforted. And this comfort is with regard
to what they're mourning over. What he has done about their
sins. That's what brings comfort. Now
turn with me to the gospel of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40. God says to the prophet Isaiah,
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sayeth your God. The same people that instead
of Christ, he shall save his people from their sins. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
sayeth your God. Now understand this. Every gospel
message, I don't care what the scripture you're dealing with,
I don't care whether people are being reprimanded on some level,
and the people at Corinth here were being reprimanded on some
level, weren't they? Of course they were. And there
is a place for that in preaching. But every message must be comforting,
or it's not a gospel message. I want you to think about that.
If it's not a comforting message, it's not a gospel message. Now, even if I'm being reprimanded
and I need it, you need it, if it leads me to think, oh, I must
not be saved, it wasn't preached right. or I didn't hear it right,
every message without exception is to be a message of comfort.
And that message of comfort has something to do with sin and
how I'm delivered from this sin that I mourn over. Now look what
he says in verse two. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. And my marginal reading says
speak to the heart. of Jerusalem. Speak to the heart. Now the heart is not some kind
of ethereal thing that you can't get hold of. Yes, emotion is
involved in the heart, but the heart means the whole man. The
heart means the understanding. The heart means the affections.
The heart means the will. Only the gospel is addressed
to the heart. Now, free will religion is addressed
to what? The will. Reform religion is
addressed to what? The intellect. Pentecostalism,
charismatic religion, is addressed to what? The emotions and the
feelings. But the gospel is addressed to
the heart. I love that scripture in Romans
chapter 10 verse 9, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. You know what you believe with?
You believe with your heart. That doesn't mean I'm believing
with something I can't really understand. No. With my understanding,
I believe that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only righteousness
I possess. I understand that. As well as
a sinner can't understand something, I understand that. I want it to be that way. If
you're giving me a choice, do you want to be saved by your
own righteousness or the righteousness of Jesus Christ? Guess which
one I choose. I want to be saved by the righteousness
of Christ. And I love this. I love being saved by the righteousness
of Christ. I love it. It's the gospel message.
Speak to the heart of Jerusalem. And look what he says to tell
in verse two. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her." Say it loud so she can hear. Now, that doesn't mean I'm supposed
to start screaming at the top of my lungs to make sure you
hear, but it's talking about this is something you need to
hear. Cry unto her. Look in this same chapter, verse
6, the voice said, cry. And he said, what shall I cry?
Well, the Lord's going to tell us what we're to cry. All flesh
is grass. That's what the cry. And all
the goodliness thereof, as the flower of the field, the grass
withers, the flower fades, because the spirit of the Lord blows
upon it. Surely the people is grass, the grass withers, the
flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. That's the gospel message. Now,
there's three things he says to cry with regard to her sin. Verse two, cry unto her that
her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned,
for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her
sins. Now this is what comforts somebody
that mourns. He says, first tell her, her
warfare is accomplished. And I know exactly what that
warfare is that he's speaking of. The same thing that Paul
spoke of in Galatians chapter five, verse 17, when he said,
the flesh lusts against the spirit And this is going on in the same
man, coming out of his one consciousness. Two things, flesh and spirit. And he's not talking about the
Holy Spirit. He's talking about what the Holy
Spirit birthed. That's where it came from. But he's not talking
about the Holy Spirit, like the Holy Spirit's lusting against
the flesh and there's this fight going on. That doesn't even make
sense. And it's contrary to the omnipotence
of the Holy Spirit. He's all-powerful. This is talking
about the spiritual nature that every believer has, the old man
and the new man. That's what the Bible calls it,
the old man and the new man. The flesh and the spirit. The
flesh, thus, against the spirit. The spirit, thus, against the
flesh. These two are contrary, one to
the other. So you, you the one person. You
don't say, well, flesh here, spirit there. No, you're one
person. It comes out of one consciousness. so that you cannot do the things
that you would. Now that's the warfare he's talking
about that goes on in the breast of every believer every day all
the time. The victor's already been won. You might have a skirmish going
on, but listen to this. It is finished. Victor's already won. Her warfare is accomplished. Boy, that comforts me because
I do have the flesh lusting against the spirit, the spirit lusting
against the flesh, and my heart all the time, you do too. What a blessed thing to know
that it is finished. Her warfare is finished, accomplished. And the second thing he says
to say, tell her not only that her warfare is accomplished,
but that her iniquity is pardoned, forgiven, put away. Now, notice he doesn't say her
iniquity will be forgiven if fill in the blank, but it's a
declaration. Your iniquity is forgiven. The glory of the gospel is that
it doesn't end with the forgiveness of sins. If you do this, this,
get this straightened out, stop doing this, start doing that,
get rid of this, you'll have the forgiveness of sins. That's
just salvation by works. That's all it is. The gospel
begins with this message. You're forgiven. All your iniquities
are blotted out, separated from you as far as the east is from
the west. cast behind the back of God.
They are no more. And here's the third thing he
gives that comforts that person who mourns. And like I said,
don't ever think there's a time when I need to quit mourning.
No, as long as you have sin, as long as you have an old nature,
an evil nature, you have reason to mourn all the time. It's always
there. And that's a good thing. You
know what your mourning does over sin? Makes you look nowhere
but Christ. You don't have anywhere else to look. That's a good thing. You know, the Lord could have
made it to where you didn't sin anymore. He could have, but he
didn't. I don't know what all his purpose in that is, but I
know this. I don't have anything but Christ.
That's what poor in spirit is. I don't have anything but Christ.
And then he says, tell her, in verse two, that she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Not only has she
been forgiven, better than that, she's been justified. Not only
have your sins been removed, they've been made non-existent. Put away. I love the way David
said blot out my iniquity. That means erase it, make it
to where it never happened. And that's what the Lord has
done with all the sins of his people. Blessed are they the
more. This is a state of supreme blessedness. It's what Christ calls blessed,
not what some man calls blessed. This is how Christ identifies
who that blessed person is. And this attitude of mourning
over my sin ought to make my attitude towards the sin of others
one of mourning over their sin. That's what Paul said to the
Corinthians. You're puffed up and have not rather mourned over
this taking place. As long as we're in the flesh,
we're going to have reason to mourn, but we have this continual
promise. Blessed are they that mourn. Oh, may the Lord cultivate this
attitude in us. In every respect, mourning over
sin. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
comfort of the gospel. How we thank you that our warfare is accomplished.
Our iniquity is pardoned and we've received of thy hand double
for all of our sin. Lord, the comforts of your gospel
are glorious. Lord, deliver us from having
a hardened attitude towards sin and ourselves. or sin in others,
but give us this mourning over sin. That's above the strength
and energy of this flesh. We ask that by your spirit we
might embody being poor, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting
after righteousness, pure in heart, merciful, peacemakers, being
persecuted for righteousness. Allow us that, your blessing
for Christ's sake. And Lord, as we face this coming
week, we pray for grace. We ask that you would order our
steps in your word, that you'd let no iniquity have dominion
over us. We would remember that, but would
you enable us to Have open doors to preach your
gospel to others and may we be enabled to be thy witnesses. Be with all your people, Lord,
this church, the people that are in trouble. We pray for your
blessing upon them, those that are going through difficulties
in their homes. We pray for your kind, merciful
grace upon them. those that are sick, those that
are suffering. Lord, cause us to be sensitive and loving toward
each other. Thank you for the fellowship
we have in your son. In Christ's name we pray, amen.