Learn to Mourn
Jesus wept.
Out of 66 Books written in the Bible, this is the shortest and one of the most impactful passages in all of Scripture.
Two Precious words can completely change the way we see the dying world.
Jesus wept.
Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
John 11:32-34 NKJV
The King of the Universe. The Alpha and Omega, The Son of Man, God in the flesh WEPT!
Understand that.
He didn’t just shed a few tears.
He sobbed. He felt the emptiness in His gut.
Jesus just lost His very good friend Lazarus.
In His humanity He had empathy for what just happened. Hearing the news of Lazarus’, seeing his sister Mary weep, and even the other Jews there wept.
Jesus had sorrow in His heart!
He grieved.
He groaned!
He was troubled!
Oh to hear the news of a death!
It should move us in this very same way!
We should mourn, it should hurt us in the depths of our being!
With all the deaths and murders and suicides across our city, it should move us to action!
There has to be a way to relieve the broken hurting heart!
We as a society have been so desensitized to death, it no longer moves us.
It no longer does anything to our hearts to hear about the murders, death and destruction going on around us.
There is real pain! There’s real agony!
There’s questions that go unanswered.
There is hopelessness.
There is a lack of compassion from the Church.
Many have fallen into the same category as the world.
Hearts have grown so cold.
Maybe we have been exhausted over hearing of all the deaths in our cities.
Everyday there is a new murder to report on. Everyday someone loses someone they love.
Maybe we have run out of love for the brokenhearted.
We have gotten so caught up in the things of the world. The Church has allowed herself to get distracted from one of her main jobs.
But self seeking, self-motivation has captured the hearts of many Christians.
We have been called above these. We have been sealed and secured by the Blood of Jesus Christ for what? A better life now!
No!
If you have confessed, repent and believe the Gospels. If you have humbled yourself at the Foot of Jesus and submitted yourself under His authority.
Where is the fruit of your conversion?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
Or have we ever had these?
Fruits are grown to be given to the hungry.
The malnourished. The ones that need strength to cope with the hardships and tragedy this world offers.
But we pick the fruits and we neatly put them in baskets and watch them rot.
Shame on us.
We talk so much about being the salt and the light. But the salt is bitter and the light is dim!
We weren’t called to be self seeking.
We were called to help the orphans and widows.
To show kindness found in the heart of Jesus.
To love the loveless.
To bring joy to the hearts of despair.
To suffer long with them, carry these burdens. Show kindness, goodness.
That even through death those that have to deal with it, there is a peace that doesn’t disappoint!
Self-motivation is a lie, the only thing that should motivate us is to bring the hurting some comfort through showing the same love and compassion Jesus showed us!
Jesus grieved for the hurting souls. When He saw the pain that death deals,
He was Troubled!
We are no longer troubled by these things but have become unconcerned.
There is a lack of sympathy from the Body of Christ! We are failing the lost and broken hearted.
We are no longer present.
Mary the sister of Lazarus comes and says something that should haunt us today;
“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
This is how much faith Mary had in Jesus.
She knew the healing power. The comfort He brings. She knew that He was the One to heal the sickest diseased soul.
That peace comes just from His very presence!
And she knew that He was power over death!
So what are we to do?
And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
II Samuel 1:12 NKJV
We mourn.
Have sorrow in your heart for the lost. Pray for them. Pray with them.
Give them comfort with the washing of the Word of God!
Even the Ministry of presence alone can comfort the broken hearted.
We weep, just as Jesus wept.
Shed tears of sorrow. We will never make a difference if we can’t share in the pain!
We are to bear with one another. Hold the falling and the weak.
Fast. Why fast? It was both an inward and outward expression of deep sorrow.
It is a way to reconnect with the Lord. To feel the hurt and pain that He feels for the fallen. To seek His guidance about how to serve the broken hurting heart.
I urge you today to relearn the art of compassion.
This should be one of our top ministries.
If we can’t show the same compassion and love as Jesus did, then what are we doing?
If we can no longer weep for the loss of life through senseless acts, then who are we?
If we no longer mourn in the depths of our souls for those that hurt, then maybe you are not who you think you are.
We were saved by the grace and mercy of God through the Blood of His Son Jesus, Our Savior, to be of service to the Kingdom of God!
Full service.
We are to serve in all departments, even the uncomfortable and forgotten ones.
Love the Lord today, show His love today!
Weep and mourn when you need to.
Then do something about it. Relearn what it is to show compassion.
Rethink emapthy and what it is, then show it!
Then go bare with oneother showing the Fruit of Jesus and His Holy Spirt.
Share the Fruits!
Pastor Ed