Dear Gosh By Bryan McAnally copyright 2002

Dear Gosh,

People know I worship you, because your name always comes from my pipes.
They also know I follow your son, the one and only Jesus H. Cripes.
I comfortably call him, “Jeez.” He doesn’t mind that, you can check.
But even if he did, I know he wouldn’t dare send me to…heck.

But my Gosh, my worship doesn’t end there
I love all the apostles too -
Golly, Jeepers, and Jiminy
Criminy, Holy Moly, and His brother Holy Cow.
Shoot, Shucks, and Sheesh
Darn, Double Darn, and - lest we forget - Crud.

People know I watch my words
I’d never want to be one of those dirty birds
The world loves me as I toe the line
Because dear Gosh, I’m not yours, you’re mine.

And as always, it is in Cripes name I pray.

Back from convention. More to say on that later. Here's my first sermon on the beatitude series....

***

Over the past few weeks, God has been dealing radically with me. For me to disregard the activity of the Holy Spirit in my life so I could simply promote a predetermined preaching agenda would be dishonoring to the Lord, to His church, and even to the pulpit He gives me the privilege to preach behind (and around) each week.

For several weeks prior to the conclusion on the sermon series on unity in the church, God had given me a new series on the topic of “vision.” In fact, the insert you have received in this month’s and last month’s newsletters are part of the strategy to make us more aware of this very important subject.

But through a series of significant recent events, God has changed my understanding of what God wants me to present. Please here me in what I am saying – I have not changed what I am preaching because of circumstances– that would be reactionary and just as much in the flesh than as if I had never gone to God in the first place. In fact, I still believe that God Himself gave me the direction to preach the messages on vision, but in God’s economy, He used these events to simply tell me, “wait.”

He’s done this before. God has placed within me a great desire and organized plan to preach through the book of Romans. And every time I go to God and ask Him for permission to begin preaching it, He says, “not yet.” And I believe it is because I have something specific to learn or understand before I can present it to the Body. And I’m thankful for His graceful hand of restraint.

So, while God has restrained me on the messages of vision, I returned to that process of asking God, “what is it that you want to say to us?” and, “what is it you want to say to me?” After much prayer, He has led me to Matthew chapter 5.

Let me spend a moment on relating how He brought me here, because this is one of those awesome moments where I’m amazed at the “big-ness” of God. While I was doing some study in the book of Revelation for my UniTED class, God spoke clearly to me from Revelation 2:4 – “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” In a voice that was more clear than any audible voice, I heard the Lord speak to my spirit, saying, “Speak on my first love.”

So, I began to hunt – and God moved me from Scripture to scripture – John 3:16 -- “For God so loved the world that He gave his Only begotten son….” 1 John 4:10 – “ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins”. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

There are great sermons to be shared in each of these passages, and I absolutely believe that God has uniformly expressed that being in love with God is that first love expressed in Revelation. I absolutely believe this to be so because I look at God’s word and I discover that He is loves us with a consuming love and He is absolutely consumed with us loving Him.

Consider for a moment two generations of “men of God.” On one hand, you have David, and on the other, you have his son Solomon. Look at David – a murderer, an adulterer, a kingdom in chaos. Look at Solomon – wise, rich, and a builder of God’s temple. But, looking back thousands of years later, what do we discover? David is revered and honored, and Solomon at best gets an offhand reference or two, like Matt 11:28-29 – So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Why such a disparity? Why is David labeled a man after God’s own heart, and Solomon a man known for a man brought to ruin in his latter years? I believe the truth lies in these – their own words. David: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. (Psalm 23:6) And Solomon: And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. (Ecc. 1:17)

God identifies us not on our performance in His name, but for our commitment to pursuing Him. And I believe that is why God has led me to Matthew 5: You see, as I spent time in God’s word, He kept bringing me back here. To the sermon on the mount. To this Galilean mountainside where Jesus preached to the multitudes.

The reason I believe God brought me here is exactly the same reason why I felt like I shouldn’t be here. This is a tough place to be – theologically speaking. I mean, scholars far smarter than I and theologians much deeper than I have wrestled with this passage of scripture for centuries – there is no way I’ll be able to present things in a nice, tidy little package from week to week. People have given their lives to debating the meaning and the application of this passage. And yet, as I read these verses again and again, over and over, God keeps saying the same thing to me over and over again. Read with me (Matt. 6:1-12).

Do you hear Him? With each verse, with each promise to each group, I hear Him call out, “I love you.” I read the beatitudes and I see the reality of Jesus. I read the beatitudes and I see the reality of david. I see that a life well lived is more focused upon who you are rather than how you are. And I’m afraid that is a concept that we humans almost universally confuse. We get so wrapped up in the struggle of how to be – that we miss out on the blessing of who to be. My prayer is that as we grow through God’s word together, we’ll hear Him showing us how much He loves us, and we’ll understand better who He created us to be.

To accomplish this aim – we’ll go slow. We’ll look closely at the text, and we’ll seek to learn and understand the word. But more important than these matters of increasing in knowledge, we’re going to proceed deliberately at a pace to give his words their appropriate meditation. Some time, we may leave early, and others, we may leave late. But we will be with our Father. Because we love Him.
You see, I need to learn this even as I progress through this. Recently, I was working at home – doing Bible study – and it was time for bed for Kaylyn. And she came to kiss me goodnight and go to bed. But after kissing me goodnight, she climbed up on my lap and just cuddled there with me. And it hit me. “You just want to be with daddy, don’t you?” “Yes sir.” She said. Friends, I believe God has brought us here to Matthew 5 so we will learn to just want to be with our daddy in heaven.

I truly believe this is God’s motive for us in this passage because the verses immediately before tell us much on the subject. Read with me (4:23-5:2). You see, Jesus had been busy about the work – He preached, he taught, he healed. He had gained quite a following, what the Bible calls “a multitude.” What is interesting is that the Greek word for this is ochlos, which by implication means “the rabble.” He had been about the Father’s business and had drawn a throng of rabble, of misfits. And then, as 5:1 says, it was seeing the mass of misfits that compelled him to stop the work, and tell them, “I love you.”

First, look at who Jesus addressed. They were the sick – they were filled with diseases (these are physical ailments) and torments (these are mental and emotional ailments). He met a mass of people and healed them all.

I want to ask – can you identify with these folks? Jesus has drawn you here today. For one reason or another, you are here today, and it is not by coincidence, or by accident. Jesus has drawn you here. And you are in one of two situations – either you have a disease or torment, or you’ve been healed of one. Many of you are here today because you have been healed of a disease or torment. Some of you came because your lives were broken by addiction – to drugs or alcohol, to women or men, to work, to play – to any number of things. Some of you came because you were physically ill – cancer, fatigue, stress, or some other debilitating disease. But everyone comes to Jesus at a point of recognizing that they are a misfit. Some people have to lose everything to get to that point. Others have to accomplish or gain everything and still be unsatisfied to realize it. But friends, everyone is a misfit. If it weren’t so, Jesus never would have bothered ministering to the rich young ruler, to Nicodemus, to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, or to Joseph of Arimethea. Everyone needs what God has to offer through Jesus Christ. And Jesus saw them, and was moved to them this – “blessed are you when you are as you are – right now.”

You see, this is so important because this is His action – He tells them the blessings of brokenness, of contriteness, of awareness of one’s total inability and ineptitude. This is why the beatitudes have confounded so many over so much time – Jesus is preaching to the m the message of eternal blessings in the context of present blight. This is why liberals want to make the gospel of Jesus a social gospel, this is why the skeptics and heretics want to take the deity away from Jesus and water down the truth of His good news. You see, people either want to romanticize poverty or villianize it. People want to on one hand allegorize the beatitudes and on the other simplify them – which ever strategy will help them in their own interpretation. And we’re no different. You see, many Christians never deny that they came to Christ just as did the people of the multitudes, but then they spend the rest of their lives either trying to escape their lot in life, or to wear it like a badge.

Let me say this in a way that may make more sense. There are three categories of Christians in this world, for the sake of this line of thought – there are those who are saved by grace and realize it and spend the rest of their life living in that grace. Then there are those who are saved by grace and then spend the rest of their lives living like they are better than those who have not received that grace (these are the people mentioned in Phil. 3:1-7 – “those things that were gain for me were a loss for Christ.”) And then there are people who are guilty of the opposite extreme – of taking abasement as a source for personal pride (see 2 Cor. 11:18-28 – what concerns me most? My concern for the churches!”) You see, so many people start out right at the right spot – God’s deep love for me – but rather than staying right there where the blessing is, they migrate to one of two extremes that say the exact same thing in opposite ways – “it isn’t about God, it’s about me!”

You see, Jesus looked upon the multitudes of misfits, and He was moved. He was so moved He did today something that we’d probably find offensive, but in that day, was seen as authoritative. He sat down. Today, when you have something important to say, you stand up. But back then, when a rabbi taught or spoke standing up, it was seen as informal or casual. But for Him to sit down, it meant that he meant business, and you better pay attention. And this is exactly what Jesus did – He wanted their attention, He wanted their ears, so He sat down. And as the scriptures reveal – He taught them. He didn’t refer to anyone else. He didn’t defer to another rabbi, to another text, to another lesson. He spoke the Words that He authored before time began, without using notes or references, and He taught with the authority of One who authored the text, as compared to one who is just well-read on a subject.

Friends, over the next several weeks, we’re going to spend time on our daddy’s lap as He shows us what it means to have a beautiful attitude. We will sit together in the audience of Jesus as He explains what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and to be reviled. And we’ll discover in an increasing and ongoing way what how when Jesus says, “blessed are you when,” He is really saying, “I love you when…”

Here's last week's sermon. I noticed that the formatting from yesterday was all messed up. I tried to correct it in this one by doing a couple of things differently, but I won't know if it worked until after I post it. So, we'll see. And if it doesn't work -- sorry. I'll keep trying.

Had an awesome Bible study discussion on Joseph this morning. I hope to present some of it here soon.

***

Some of you may be familiar with the name Harold Kushner, but many of you will not. Harold Kushner has gained prominence because almost 22 years ago, he asked a question that millions of people prior to him had asked, but did so in a way that was very different. Rather than simply ask a question, he placed his question in print, in the form of a book, and wrote out his struggle to arrive at a comfort-bringing conclusion.

You see, Harold was a man whose wife bore him a son named Aaron. At about eight months old, Aaron stopped putting on weight. Then, at a year, Aaron’s hair began falling out. Naturally, Harold and his wife became very concerned, and began taking Aaron to different doctors all over New York, where they lived, and were told that their fears, while understandable, could be allayed. They informed the Kushners that Aaron would grow up normally, despite never groing tall, and would likely not have much hair.

Well, the Kushners relocated to a suburb of Boston, where Harold was introduced to a local pediatrician who was researching children’s growth problems. Shortly after Aaron’s third birthday, on the day his sister was born, the doctor came to the hospital and told the Kushner family that Aaron had progeria, or rapid aging. Aaron would never grow much beyond three feet in height, would have no hair on his head or body, would look like a little old man while he was still a child, and would die in his early teens.

Harold Kushner expressed in his book that he was devastated. Each year that they would celebrate his birthday, bittersweet emotions tainted the experience. Each joy was tempered with the understanding that the boy was inching ever closer to death. These events led Harold Kushner, a Jewish Rabbi, to ask the question and write the book with the same name, “why do bad things happen to good people?”

This week, a sniper has continued to terrorize people in the Washington, D.C. area. Two people were killed as they pumped gasoline into their automobile. A child was shot walking into school. Nobody knows this lunatic’s motives, but has received only a clue in a tarot card with the words “I am God” written across it. Just yesterday, a terrorist bombed the resort island of Bali, killing over 50 people. And as families all over the world bury their dead and mourn for justice, they cry out to the true God, “How can you let these bad things happen to good people?”

This question, interestingly enough, was probably not a question that was asked back in the day where we are gathered at the feet of Jesus at the bottom of the mountain, found in Matthew 5. In that day, when bad things happened, it was almost without exception linked to sin. If a man was born blind, it was attributed to sin in his parent’s life. If a person contracted leprosy, it was because of sin. If a person was poor, it was because that person was a sinner. You see, the religious experts of the day, the Pharisees, determined themselves to be righteous and without sin because they were men of prominence and of prosperity.

But this is not the crowd that Jesus drew. The crowd that followed Jesus were the sinners. They were the poor. They were the scab-ridden, the hobblers, the beggars, the losers. They were people who, for their whole life, wanted a legitimate answer to the question, why do all these bad things keep happening to us? Now, they were probably asking the question better back then than we do today, because they never presumed themselves to be “good people.” They had been told their entire lives that bad things happened to them because they were bad people.
Now, while I don’t think that was necessarily the case, I think we have gone way too far in the other direction. Now, we assume everyone is a “good person.” If I’m not out killing people, eating babies, or kidnapping children, if I’m not a molester, or some sicko in that way, then I’m entitled to label myself a “good person.” And by virtue of my self-applied label, I seem to think that means I can be shocked when bad things happen to me. I don’t think that’s biblical, either.

The reality is, things happen because I’m a person. Not because I’m a good person. Not because I’m a bad person. But because I’m a person who lives in a world that is filled with sin, filled with bad things, and accordingly, I am subject to bad things happening to me from time to time.

But some people, like the folks who had gathered around Jesus, seemed to be receiving, at least from a human perspective, more than their “fair share” of bad things. It seems like a lot of these people had been so long removed from a good thing happening in their life, that if something good had happened to them, they likely either wouldn’t have recognized it or assumed it meant that only a REALLY bad thing was coming, since good times never came to stay.

Maybe you can identify with that mindset. It seems like bad things are happening in bunches. It seems that the bad things that are happening are a lot worse and a lot more frequent than the good times. It feel like the cartoon guy where the storm cloud is always over your head, and every time you reach out for something good, the cloud either douses you with a rainstorm or zaps you with a bolt of lightning.

Well, that’s who these people were, and it seems like they were in a constant state of mourning. And it is to them that Jesus addresses these words: blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Remember, this series of statements that Jesus is speaking are promises of blessings to different categories of people. And the word to us is that if we can discover our identity in one or more of these categories of people, then we can claim the promise given to that category. And knowing that there is a promise of God bestowed upon us because we are identified in a particular manner of need, it will allow us, enable us, empower us to have a beautiful attitude in that given circumstance.

So, first off, let’s look at the audience. The audience for this promise is the statement to whom it is spoken – blessed are those who mourn. The Greek word for “mourn” is penthos, and literally means “grief.” This word is a strengthened word from a root that literally means “to experience suffering.” So, here, God is promising blessing to a category of people whose condition of mourning is an expression of suffering grief.

With that in mind, let’s take a moment to examine some categories of mourning, to see where each of us may fit. First of all, we see in Scripture, that there is a category of individuals who are those who mourn improperly.
• Turn to 2 Sam. 13:2 – here we see a man who is in mourning for his unsatisfied lusts. He can’t have what he wants – and his desires are incestuous, perverse lusts that led to grief.
• Read a verses further along and see how King David responds when his son Absalom is killed (18:33-19:6). You see, here David had a legitimate sorrow driven to an illegitimate degree. Why did David react to such an extreme? Possibly because of guilt over his own sin, and understanding of God’s judgment upon it. But Joab recognized that this mourning was completely inappropriate.
• Finally, in John 11:15-19, we get one other glimpse of inappropriate mourning. We see here that Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus, and wealthy man in the community, had been dead for four days. When Jesus had arrived, he found that many of the Jews had come to give comfort. What’s interesting about this is that in the Jewish culture, when someone died, particularly someone of wealth and prominence, the immediate family would mourn for 30 days. And as a sign of the righteousness and prosperity of the individual who died, the religious establishment would send in their “professional mourners” (for a fee) for the first three days. Then, they would leave, and from the fourth day to the 30th, the family and close friends would mourn. What identifies these people as improper mourners are the fact that John labels them “the Jews” which throughout scripture is the term used to label the religious establishment, and that they were present on the fourth day. They were there for selfish reasons, not genuine ones.

So, how do these types of improper mourners translate to modern-day parallels? How about like this:
• We have a demographic of people who have come to believe it is their entitlement to be victims, and when their status as victims is threatened, they mourn improperly. Many of you here can likely identify with the large number of criminal offenders who, being found guilty of violent crimes, have been sentenced to prison. Yet, rather than acknowledging guilt and accepting responsibility, they blame the government, “the system,” or other people. Then, these folks, from the comfort of a prison environment where every need is met, they dedicate their life to suing the government that has civilly incarcerated them in the face of their uncivil crime.
• Last month, when I was going into the hospital to be with my uncle Gene in his last moments of life, I passed a man on the street who was bound to a wheelchair. And over his wheelchair was a large poster board that had in big letters, “Dr. Smith (I don’t remember his real name) is a butcher!” On the back, the poster screamed out, “Dr. Smith ruined my life!” This man had no doubt experienced legitimate sorrow – especially if Dr. Smith had indeed performed some sort of gross negligence in operating upon the man. But the man had proceeded to an improper place of mourning because the hurt, the bitterness, the resentment, the anger had all grown to a point to where they now consumed him. Rather than seeking a quality in the life that remained, he had apparently given his life to that moment that had induced so much mourning in his life. Like David at the news of Absalom’s death, nothing else mattered to this man.
• We, too, have professional mourners. They aren’t on the church staff (at least not here), but they are the folks who for one reason or another seem to enjoy touring “the funeral circuit.” Rather than being voices of comfort, they wail louder than any one else. They like to say things like, “it should have been me,” or “why did it have to be her?” because they sound so sweet, but if you really evaluate what is being said, is actually selfish and fleshly. These people seem to be at almost every funeral, and instead of helping, they only add to the hurt and genuine sorrow.

In addition to the category of improperly mourning, there is the category of those who properly mourn. We need to understand that sorrow is an appropriate, real, genuine life experience. John Macarthur relates an Arab proverb, “all sunshine makes a desert.” And one of my favorite Jewish proverbs comforts, “what soap does for the body, tears do for the soul.” Sorrow serves expresses purposes in our life, and we should embrace those experiences. Mourning is a time for learning, for growing, for trusting, for remembering, for healing, and for hoping.

We see many experiences of appropriate mourning in the scriptures. Abraham grieved over his loss of Sarah. Not from a lack of faith, but from an awareness of his loss. David grieved over the assault of his pagan enemies. The father of the demon-possessed son mourned over his son, whom he brought to Jesus. And Jesus Himself grieved deeply for the sins of Israel, and for the deep loss He had for Lazarus, even though He knew that Lazarus would soon rise from the dead and dine with Him.

But the sort of mourning described in this beatitude is not of either of these categories – proper or improper. The sorrow mentioned here that is the recipient of blessing is to those who know the reality of godly mourning. Look at how this mourning is defined in the Bible:
For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Cor. 10:11)
What this means is that the only sorrow that leads to spiritual life is godly sorrow, which is sorrow over sin that leads to repentance. This doesn’t invalidate or disregard other legitimate or appropriate sorrow, but in terms of the spirit life, the most import sorrow is sorrow that is linked repentance over sin.

Godly sorrow helps us understand the connection to mourning that is presented here in the beatitudes. Remember, last week we read that to receive entry into the kingdom of heaven (both here and now, as well as in the hereafter), we must be poor in spirit. That means that we must continually and consistently remember that we come to Christ empty-handed. We bring nothing to the table. We add nothing to the equation. And we should be ever mindful of that position. Paul reminded us of this in Romans 7:18, when he wrote, “nothing good dwells in us, that is, in flesh.

The only way to experience godly sorrow is to be poor in spirit. Likewise, those who are poor in spirit become those who mourn. We have biblical precedence for this theological connection. Job, according to the Bible, was a godly, upright man, who had nothing that could be held against him. But Job had to lose everything before he came to the point of godly sorrow. And look what he declared: "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6).” David expressed godly sorrow for his sin against Bathsheba: “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge (Ps. 51:3-4).” God loves us to behave morally and to live righteously, but even more so, He desires us to be humble (poor in spirit) and contrite (in godly mourning).

So, it is to those in this condition who receive the promise of blessing – and remember, the word for blessing means “happiness.” It appears ironic that God promises happiness to those who are in mourning, but that is indeed the assurance – so let’s look at the components of the assurance now. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

First look at the what of the assurance – will be comforted. This term comfort comes from the Greek word parakaleo, which comes from the same word that serves as a title of the Holy Spirit, ‘Comforter.” 2 Cor. 1:3 tells us that God is the God of all comfort. Christ is the Christ of comfort. And the Holy Spirit is our comforter. We have the entirety of the triune God to deliver to us comfort in need. And what it literally means is “helper.” In the context of godly sorrow, God promises us help in the place of our sorrow – which is our spiritual poverty. To be comforted means to receive the help of God – whether it be in the Father’s provision, the Son’s presence, or the Spirit’s persuasion.

Next, let’s look at the when of the assurance – the word says shall be. Now, like all of God’s promises, this one won’t be fully and finally realized until life ends. After all, Revelation 21:4 says that God, in eternity, will “wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. (Rev. 21:4)”

But know this – this promise given is not only for eternity – it is the promise to be delivered as we obey. As we continue to mourn over sin, we will continue to be comforted – in this life. This is the main determiner between conviction over sin, and condemnation over it. You see, the enemy condemns you for your sin – in an attempt to separate you from the Lord who loves you. But the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin, so that you may mourn over it, and receive the blessing of being comforted.

You see, this is the key to Godly mourning. In its essence – mourning over your sin is not about you, and it is not about your sin. Its about God. Look again at what Job and David declared – their brokenness wasn’t about what they did. It wasn’t that they got caught. It was that they offended, hurt, defamed, disregarded God in all His love and holiness. In this matter, spiritual maturity is not necessarily a matter of sinlessness (though we should hope to see sin less and less present in day –to-day living), but instead it becomes a matter of increasing awareness of sinfulness. Does this mean we need to live our existence as unhappy sackcloth and ashes people? God’s word tells us this -- Our sins are ever before us (Ps. 51:3), but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:8-9). God’s grace is greater than all man’s sins – and for those who mourn over that sin, through His grace, we are able to rejoice in the Spirit because of the comfort He offers (Rom. 5:1-2).

That leaves us with the how of mourning. If the only way to be poor in spirit is through godly sorrow over our sin – its important to know how to do just such a thing. Here are some helpful suggestions:
1. Eliminate the hindrances to true godly sorrow. Here are some of the hindrances that cause a heart to grow hard, and cold to the possibility of godly sorrow:
a. Love of sin – if you love the sin more than God, you’ll never mourn over it.
b. Despair – this gives up on God and says the sin is bigger than God
c. Conceit – this says that sin is not sin and calls God a liar.
d. Presumption – this is nothing more than pride that cheapens God’s grace and treats it as a token for indulgence
e. Procrastination – This is simple foolishness that assumes a promise for tomorrow that God himself has never given anyone. Ever.
Whatever the hindrance, the only way to remove it is to look upon the holiness of God and the sin-bearing of Jesus upon the cross and to allow yourself to be broken by the graceful love of God. Knowing that your Savior hung on the cross for the sins in which you indulge should be conviction enough to be undone and seek His grace and mercy.
2. study God’s word – to understand sin from God’s perspective, we must discover what He has said about it. As one scholar writes, “sin tramples on God’s laws, makes light of his love, grieves His spirit, spurns His forgiveness and blessing, and in every way resists His grace. Sin makes us weak and impure. It robs us of comfort, and much more importantly, robs God of glory.”
3. Pray – God never refuses to break the hearts of those who ask for it. Humility is a gift from God, and is a manifestation of His grace.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Here's today's sermon. I didn't post last week's sermon, so I'll probably do that tomorrow. And then I'll post the very first one in the series on the beatitudes. So, for those keeping score at home, the correct order will be (4th,1st,3rd,2nd). Thoroughly confuses? Just follow the scripture.

I'll be at the state convention until Wednesday. "The Gift" will probably return on Thursday.
***

A wealthy man known for his miserly ways became very ill. Though he wasn't much liked, and because he had vast amounts of money tucked away in banks, investments, and even under the mattress, family convened from around the country to be by his side. While he ebbed away, he slept much. The family gathered around his bed and spoke in hushed tones about who would be named in the will, and how much money each of them would get. After two weeks of illness in a near coma-like condition, the wealthy miser woke and weakly said, "Bring pastor Jones from that church across the street from my house. I want to talk to him. Alone."

Immediately, one of the adult children was dispatched to go get the pastor. The pastor came, for he knew of the old man. The miser had never been cordial in all their years as neighbors, but the pastor had been friendly and loving as often as he could. He assumed the miser must really be in bad shape, and was hoping to be reconciled to God in his last moments of life.

As the pastor entered the hospital, he was flanked by the family, and the oldest son addressed the pastor. "Now, we all love dear old dad, and he's in a very delicate condition. He's weak, and needs a lot of rest. We don't know how much he can take, but he did ask for a moment alone with you. So, we're going to ask you to be very gentle with him, and, by the way, we¡¦d like to know anything he has to say about the money and what will happen with it.¨

The pastor agreed reluctantly.

"Remember, be gentle,¨ the son said, as the pastor walked into the room. The hospital room was private, quiet, and dimly lit. A faint beep echoed periodically, a reflection of the miser's waning vitality.

"Oh, pastor, you're here. I've been waiting for you to come. It'll be over soon.¨

"Well, I'm here, we'll go together as far as we can..but I've been told to be very gentle with you, given your weak state.¨

The miser rolled his eyes. "Don't you worry about me. I'm going to heaven. My soul is in the hands of the one who made me and saved me. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I'm resting on His promises.¨

Wow, the pastor thought. "That's wonderful to hear¨

The old miser groaned. "The reason you've been called here, pastor¨

"Yes?¨ the pastor asked. He was growing increasingly weak and delicate with each passing moment.

"About the inheritance...¨

"Yes?''

"The 13 million dollars...
¨
The pastor really didn't want to be in the middle of this mess, but he would honor his word.

"It's in my will...¨

"Yes...¨

"I'm giving all of it to your church.¨

And immediately the pastor dropped dead from shock.


Today as we continue in the study of the Beatitudes, we come to this interesting promise of God that declares this: blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And as we continue to look at these promises of God, I believe that today, as in the weeks previous, I believe God is going to show us that both the promises themselves and the group to whom the promise is extended is not always what we expect and perceive.

So, with no further ado, let's look at the audience of this blessing. Blessed are the meek. Who are the meek? Well, let's begin by discovering the meaning of meek.

I want to start off by sharing with you a few things that meek is not. This is pertinent because we have things going on in our world and in our nation right now that cause us to live in a meek manner. There are those in the world right now who are attempting to redefine this word as a justification to meet political or social agendas that are not in accordance with the will and ways of God.

First off, I want you to know that meek does not mean "spineless.¨ There are some who think that the only way to be meek is to not take a stand on any given issue. These are the people who say that we cannot be in opposition to Iraq because we that makes us war-mongers. These are people who say that we cannot stand up against homosexuality because the homosexual lobby is too powerful. They say we cannot speak out against abortion because abortion is legal and we're not going to do anything but polarize the nation. They say we can't speak out on sin because people won't hear the message of God's love if we keep hammering on sin.

I want you to hear this today, friend. Peace is not attained by refusing to confront the enemy. All that happens when nonconfrontation is the course of action is that those who seek to avoid confrontation end up getting steam-rolled. Peace is only accomplished through the confrontation of those who oppose unity, truth, and goodness. You can march for peace all you want. You can have peace sit-ins, bake sales, and campfire sing-alongs, but there comes a time in a peace-seeker's life that if they truly want to experience peace, they have to fight for it.

Think about this on a theological level. You want peace with God, but you live in a world that is controlled by the enemy, for a time. There are some who are called monastics who thought they could attain peace by fleeing from the world. They ran away and locked themselves in a tower. But you know what? The enemy still pursued them. Why? Because they could escape from the world, but they couldn't escape from their own flesh, which was also a tool to be used by the adversary. So, rather than confront the enemy using the tools of spiritual warfare, they instead became known as the "flagellants" who whipped themselves bloody every time they had an impure thought. And the sad thing was (and is), Satan is laughing hysterically at these poor souls because they don't attain peace, they just make themselves miserable.

If you carry this misunderstanding even further, you¡¦ll see that not only does meek not mean "spineless¨ it also does not mean "cowardice.¨ This is what happens when those who spend their lives sitting on the fence finally get off -- not to fight, but to flee. They run away, afraid of the challenge, afraid of the opportunity, instead viewing it as a threat and a danger. Yet, the Bible says in 2 Timothy that the Lord has not given us a spirit of cowardice. So if He hasn't given us cowardice in our spirit, it doesn't make any sense that He would say "blessed are the cowardly.¨ Remember, God doesn't bless anything that He Himself doesn't give to us.

Cowardice is the manifestation of a spirit of fear. It is cowardice that says, "I can't share my faith with someone. What will they think of me?¨ Cowardice says, "I can't knock on a door and tell someone about Jesus. I can't leave a tract in a phone booth or with my tip. I might want to go back to that restaurant." It is cowardice that closes a mouth when someone is asking about the difference that defines you. It's cowardice that leaves lies like evolution and promiscuity and relativity unchallenged. It is cowardice that is afraid of looking silly, stupid, unprepared, or any other word that reflects inferiority.

One other thing -- meek does not mean "weak.¨ One reason why so many Christians are opposed to being meek is that they are afraid that others will perceive them to be weak. I suppose that this misperception is actually a result of an overreaction from the other misperceptions of meekness. Christians who desire to be bold for Christ will all-too-often overreact and go to ungodly lengths in their boldness. These are the people who shoot abortionists, who picket the funerals of homosexuals, and who are the first ones to start yelling in a discussion with a non-believer.

So, if "meek¨ doesn;t mean "cowardly, spineless,¨ or "weak,¨ what does it mean?

It means this:

First, it means "gentle.¨ Does this meaning fly in the face of what I just said that we should not be afraid to confront Iraq. No, not at all. In fact, I believe our president, and all our national leadership has exemplified meekness in this predicament. We could've gone in long ago and bombed Iraq back to the stone-age. We are the mightiest nation on the earth, militaristically speaking. But we have shown gentleness with them. Our president has gone to Congress, and our leadership has strived to work with the United Nations. But we have been as gentle as we can be in this situation, without giving in to spinelessness or cowardice.

Look too, to Jesus for our example of meekness shown in gentleness. When the woman was caught in adultery, the Jews were ready to stone her to death. Jesus was very brave because he confronted the sinful pride of those who would kill her, but then he turned, and was very gentle with her. He told her, "Where are your accusers now? Nor do I accuse you. Now, go, and sin no more.¨

Second, meek means "humble.¨ Humility is that "greased pig¨ of all personal attributes, because as soon as you think you¡¦ve got it, you probably are proving you don't. What is humility? Humility is simply not thinking of your self. The scriptures say, "don't think of yourself more highly than you ought.¨ But humility is not thinking of ourselves as horrible, no good lousier people. It just means not thinking of yourself. It means putting others first. It means putting their needs ahead of your needs. It means putting their desires ahead of your own desires. It means putting their priorities ahead of your priorities. It means putting their lives ahead of your own lives.

Again, we look at Jesus. The Bible tells us that we are to have the same attitude as Jesus (Phil 2:4-8). Jesus didn't have to leave heaven. The Bible tells us in John that He willingly gave His life for us. And if He had chose not to give His life for us, He would have been right and just in doing so. There has never been one person -- ever -- who deserved God's favor. Some may seem to deserve it more than others, but no one -- ever -- truly deserves it. That's why it is called grace. It is grace demonstrated in the humility and humiliation of Jesus that gives man eternal life.

Finally, meek means "restraint.¨ Restraint is holding back when it is appropriate to do so. Think about all the ways Jesus showed restraint. As the all-knowing God, He could have listed out every Pharisees' sins for all to know, and put them in their place. As the omnipresent God, He could have shown up at the meeting between Judas and the conspirer's and foiled their plot. As the All-powerful God, He could have removed Himself from the cross, slain all those opposed Him and established His reign right then and there.

He could have done all those things, and He would have been right and just to do it. But He didn't. Why not? Because that wasn't His plan. The plan to redeem fallen man was established before He ever spoke the world or man into existence. He set His mind to do it His way, and He has stayed to His plan at all costs. He has shown restraint and mercy and longsuffering and patience. And He has persisted in His plan in a spirit of meekness, because it was through His meek spirit that man¡¦s depravity was fully shown. He allowed Himself to be whipped, beaten, mocked, dragged, abused, hung on a cross, pierced, stabbed, and killed because in so doing He showed that man in his flesh hates God and will kill God if given the chance. It is through the incredible restraint of God that He fully shows His deep love for this manner of sinful man.

So, the Word says, "Blessed are the meek.¨ Happy (which is what blessed means) are those who are filled with humility, with gentleness, and restraint. Happy are those who are willing to have the same attitude as Jesus. Happy are those who are willing to endure the shame, the ridicule, the scorn, the mocking, the abuse, the hatred, the discrimination, the isolation of the world. Happy are those who don't lash out in their flesh. Happy are those who are willing to experience prejudice because they speak the truth of God in love. Happy are those who will put others ahead of themselves, behind even those who don't honor God with their words, deeds, or lives.

This is the audience -- and now, here's the assurance "blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the kingdom of heaven." Now, I've never inherited anything material in my life from my familial ancestors, and I suppose I don¡¦t really expect to. Here are some things that I have inherited, though:
-- From my brother, I inherited a reputation in school as being a wild guy. Sometimes, I tried really hard to live up to that reputation, but I rarely succeeded on the level that he had established.
-- From my father, I have inherited many mannerisms and behaviors. I also inherited a knack for saying things like, "You better find a higher gear, bud,¨ and "you call that music?¨ Yes, there are times when I say something and I whip a quick look over my shoulder, wondering why my dad was behind me, and how did he get there without me knowing it?
-- From my mother, I inherited an ability to shop. Now, I'll never be a shopper like my mom. She's the Michael Jordan of shopping. When it comes to shopping, I am a VW Beetle to her stretch limousine. But, confessionally, I am able to shop a lot more tolerably than a lot of guys. I don't loathe it or despise it, and every once in a great while, I actually even look forward to it.

So, I understand what it means to inherit some things, but I really don¡¦t have first hand experience at comprehending the inheritance that Jesus has in store for me. So, when it comes to the assurance promised only to the meek, we see that it foremost relates to an inheritance.

The Greek word for inheritance refers to the reception of one's allotted portion. This verse, as Macarthur points out, is an almost-direct restating of Psalm 37:11 that says, "the meek shall inherit the land.¨ These scriptures are an answer to the question asked last week, by countless people for countless centuries, "why do bad things happen to good people?¨ Well, as far as God is concerned, the only "good people¨ are those who walk by faith in Jesus Christ. And to those people, Jew or Gentile, they are given the promise that in time, the wicked people will be no more, and the righteous will receive their allotted portion.

Its very difficult for us to comprehend a world without wickedness. We cannot imagine a world without gossip, without slander, without hate, without murder, without lies, without pride, without anger, without jealousy, without manipulation. But 1 Corinthians 6:9 clearly says that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. And I suppose that is one reason why we struggle to comprehend what eternal life will look like. But friends this is the reality that is promised to us Rev. 21:1 tells us that there will be a new heaven a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. We need to understand this and just try to grasp this reality -- heaven is eternal life! It is not going to be boring. One reason why we struggle to comprehend how wonderful heaven will be is because we think of it as an extension of what we experience now. And that, dear friends, cannot be farther from the truth. We have a scripture (Col. 3:23) that says "whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to man.¨ Right now, we do that by faith, and it is difficult because its difficult to clean a poopy bottom in the preschool and think, I'm doing this for Jesus, not for this baby's parents.¨ It's difficult to invest your life in students who at times show no appreciation, and believe you are doing in unto the Lord. But that's because here and now, we do it by faith. In eternity, we won't be doing it by faith, we'll just be doing it. Because the invisible, omnipresent God will make Himself visible, and He will light the world continually with His glory, and there will be no mundane tasks, and all that we do will be an explicit act of worship unto Him. There will be no sin, no self, no rebellion, no pride to get in the way of eternal life. We will have responsibilities in heaven, we will have relationships, will have experiences, we will have LIFE! And this is what is promised to the meek -- an inheritance of this new earth!

But with this inheritance, there is an insistence -- meekness. To receive the inheritance promised, you have to be meek. Meekness is a commanded prerequisite to receive what God promises:
-- Zephaniah 2:3 -- Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.
-- Psalm 149:4 -- For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
-- James 1:21-22 -- Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The reality is that the only way to live the Spirit-filled life is to be meek. Remember, to be meek means to not think of yourself. That means to be free from pride. Meekness is an absolute requirement to accomplish anything in this life, as we wait for the inheritance in the next:
-- It is the only way we can witness -- But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15)
-- It¡¦s the only way we can show mercy -- Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:12-13)
-- It is the only way we can live wisely -- Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. (James 3:13)
-- It is the only way we can walk in unity with one another -- I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
-- It is the only way we can look at someone as they truly are -- God¡¦s finest creation ¡V Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:3)

Why is meekness so important to God? Because only meekness glorifies God. Pride seeks its own glory. God is intent on glorifying Himself because it is the only way people come to Him. God is consumed with glorifying Himself through us because He is consumed with reconciling Himself with lost man -- and this is the way He has chosen to do it. And for those who, in meekness-- in the absence of pride -- claim the promises of God ¡V mourning over their sin through spiritual poverty ¡V to them will God give them the inheritance of the earth.