As always, the transcript of the message is below
Psalm 119:9-16
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to Your word.
10 I seek You with all my heart;
do not let me stray from Your commands.
11 I have hidden Your word in my heart
that I might not sin against You.
12 Praise be to You, Lord;
teach me Your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following Your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on Your precepts
and consider Your ways.
16 I delight in Your decrees;
I will not neglect Your word.
Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Psalm 119:9-16; Matthew 5:4
GOD GIVES THE BLESSING OF COMFORT
Springford Baptist Church: Sept. 13, 2020.
Psalm 119:9-16
9 How
can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By
living according to Your word.
10 I
seek You with all my heart;
do not let me
stray from Your commands.
11 I
have hidden Your word in my heart
that I
might not sin against You.
12 Praise
be to You, Lord;
teach
me Your decrees.
13 With
my lips I recount
all the laws that come
from Your mouth.
14 I
rejoice in following Your statutes
as one
rejoices in great riches.
15 I
meditate on Your precepts
and consider
Your ways.
16 I
delight in Your decrees;
I will not
neglect Your word.
Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Psalm 119:9-16; Matthew
5:4
GOD GIVES THE BLESSING OF COMFORT
Springford Baptist
Church: Sept. 13, 2020.
Recently, we were out walking in a park and had an encounter that I want to describe for you. We were taking some photos of some beautiful purple petunias, when a woman came along and started a conversation with us. She told us that her husband had passed suddenly from a heart attack about 3 weeks ago. She lives alone because her children are grown and have their own families. She had been going to work and coming home and feeling very alone. Covid has prevented her from being with her family and friends as she would like to be. She had been crying and crying because she missed her husband so much. She had come to the park that day and it was obvious that she needed to have someone listen to how she was feeling. She told us that she had been praying. We listened and expressed care for her and she received some comfort. Afterwards, as we talked about the conversation, we came to the conclusion that God had arranged that encounter. Think about our loving God wanting to bring that woman the blessing of comfort in the midst of her mourning. God finds ways of comforting those who mourn. Sometimes He uses you and I to make that comfort real for someone who needs the assurance of comfort, but ultimately God is the Source of all comfort.
When we read these words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4), do we believe they are true?
This sermon series, “LEARNING THE WAY OF BLESSING” is going to challenge us to consider the words of Jesus and to discover unexpected truth in what He has to say.
If we just look at the first part of that verse, “Blessed are those who mourn…” we would naturally wonder, How can there be blessing when we have experienced deep loss and grief? How can blessing even be suggested as a possibility in the worst and most desperate times of our lives?
Jesus is not being insensitive here. Quite the opposite! Jesus is revealing that when we are aching from the heart wrenching experience of mourning, God can and will visit us with this tender blessing of comfort.
This promise of Jesus is not just empty words. It is an all encompassing promise. Jesus is not saying that a few select people will receive comfort when they mourn. The blessing of comfort from God is available for anyone who is mourning.
As we think about what God says and taking Him at His word to provide the comfort we need, let’s examine Psalm 119:9-16.
This section of Psalm 119 is a description of LEARNING THE WAY OF BLESSING. It centers in verse 11, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”
A time of loss and grief, a time of mourning, is a time with a host of questions. A very understandable and legitimate question is, “Why”? “Why has this happened”? It can all seem so unfair. For some people in mourning, there comes a turning against God and a rejecting of faith. Some people decide in the pain of grief that they cannot trust God.
I recall that, in a Grief Share support group that some of us attended together at our church, we were discussing the reality that the experience of grief usually either leads people closer to God or for some they move further away from God.
With God’s word hidden in our hearts, we can claim His promise of comfort and move closer toward Him.
Last week’s section of Psalm 119 highlighted the blessing that comes for those who seek God with all their hearts.(Psalm 119:2). This same intention is highlighted this week: “I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands.”
When we do experience the pain of loss and are in mourning, it is still a time to stay close with God and to follow His ways.
As God’s word and God’s promises are hidden in our hearts we continue to recount and remember, “all the laws that come from Your mouth.” (Psalm 119:13)
We have responsibility to choose God’s ways.
Part of God’s way is,
“Blessed are those who mourn for they will
be comforted.”
Psalm 119:14-16
describes a pattern of life that results in
blessing. It is a consistent decision to follow God’s statutes and
to meditate on and consider His ways. It is a commitment not to
neglect God’s word.
A time of mourning is not a time to turn away from God, but rather a time to come near to God and to cling to Him and His promises. We can look to Him for the blessing of comfort. We can find in our personal experience, that in the times when we feel most afraid and uncertain, God comes near and surrounds us with His loving arms of comfort.
Sometimes in the regular day to day of life, we may not be as aware of God with us. Sometimes we get caught up in a number of things that take our time and attention. Yet, when we are overcome with loss and hardship, God is right there with us and willing to give us comfort. It is true when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”
If God’s Word was not true and dependable, then our faith would be a hopeless endeavour. I have found that there is comfort from God for my times of mourning and I have seen the blessing of God’s comfort for others who have faced sorrow.
God, with loving attention, does arrange for those who are mourning to be blessed by being given the comfort they need. We can learn to trust our God to keep His word that we treasure and hide in our hearts!