God has humbled Southside Bible Fellowship as a church through many sinful choices – and indecision’s. Through seeking God’s heart in Scripture, prayer, engaging in self-examination, and skill training, we now recognize our responsibility for the wounding of many brothers and sisters at Southside Bible Fellowship. We are grieved over our sin. We view our failures as an opportunity to change and grow through confession and seeking reconciliation with those who have been hurt. As leaders and as a church we have prayerfully identified eight overlapping areas as having caused considerable frustration, pain, and relational tearing over the last several years. While we acknowledge that there may be more, the following list seeks to identify what we can currently own. Our desire is to express sincere repentance and by God’s mercy and grace, make the necessary changes and reengage God’s full redemptive purpose for Southside Bible Fellowship.

1. Conflict avoidance

SBF is guilty of having gone to great lengths to avoid conflict. We have practiced “peacekeeping” and not biblical peacemaking. This has created a “false peace” that has regularly erupted into confusion, reactivity, and broken relationships. Our avoidance of conflict also created dissension and withdrawal from dialogue because we failed to learn how to disagree agreeably. As leaders and as a church we have hurt people and allowed others to be hurt through our inability to navigate inevitable conflict. We are seeking to learn how to live in the tension of speaking the truth–in love when conflict arises.

2. Poor processes and communication

Effective ministry begins with prayer and wise planning, which leads to processes that reflect God’s heart for a church. At SBF we have been guilty of poor processes and poor communication, which has hindered the growth and development of both people and vibrant ministry. An ongoing sense of urgency, reactivity, and impatience has contributed to this. We also acknowledge that poor processes and communication have negatively affected relationships at SBF. We will be thoroughly updating our policies and procedures, along with a renewed commitment to pray and earnestly wait on God’s leading for direction, along with our congregation’s affirmation.

3. Subtle pressure/perceived pressure and unhealthy loyalty by leaders

Subtle or perceived pressure occurs when individuals or groups experience implied or directly expressed persuasion to adopt similar values, beliefs, and/or goals, as those of the leadership. In hindsight we, the leadership of SBF, have seen that we applied inappropriate pressure on people. Though it was not our intention to lead in this way, we have seen our sin and acknowledge the hurtful impact of the results. We also confess the sin of an unhealthy loyalty to poor pastoral decisions and demands. We are grieved over how we have let our brothers and sisters as well as our Lord Jesus Christ down – causing misunderstandings, deep pain, and broken relationships.

4. Lack of clear grievance procedures

There has been a lack of a clear and consistent grievance procedure at SBF, which can be defined as a safe and secure process by which members and attenders can bring their concerns to the leadership and be assured they will be respectfully listened to. We acknowledge that our lack of a clear grievance procedure has resulted in miscommunication, mistrust, unresolved conflict, disappointment, heartache, and broken fellowship. By God’s grace, utilizing the principles He has provided in His word, we will be updating our policies and procedures to define and describe a grievance procedure that honors Christ, listens carefully to God’s people, and addresses concerns.

5. Poor discernment

Discernment can be defined as, “keenness in seeing and understanding, good judgment, shrewdness” and in our case, “insight” in the ability to “read the character of others.” As a church we have been woefully lacking in this grace-fueled aptitude. We have allowed ourselves to be misled at great cost to the body. Furthermore we failed to accept the warnings of those who possessed this ability. Our prayer is that God will open our eyes to walk humbly, seek input, and explore due-diligence as we move forward.

6. Lack of training for ministry leaders and participants

We have determined that there has been a lack of training for both ministry leaders and participants. Our lack of training has resulted in behavior that has been confusing and hurtful. We are grieved over this failure because it has resulted in unclear assignments and a lack of good coaching, accountability, and effective evaluation. We want to move forward with God’s help to design a proactive leadership development and training strategy to maximize the servant-leadership potential in and through SBF.

7. Gossip and relational triangulation

We have allowed church-wide gossip and triangulation to hinder the life of our congregation. We view gossip as talking about others behind their backs, betraying a confidence, or stirring up dissension – and we view relational triangulation as speaking with a third party about a person (and problem) before talking to the person we are having the problem with.[1] As leaders, and as a church, we have been guilty of gossip and relational triangulation. Additionally, we have not lovingly confronted gossip and relational triangulation when it has surfaced. We are seeking to restore a safe and secure environment at SBF through confession, authenticity, and humble confrontation as appropriate.

8. Moralism

Over the years we have fallen into the trap of theological moralism, which calls for obedience without connecting the commands of God to the cross of Christ and the grace to change. We have, at times, failed to trust that our sanctification, like our salvation, comes by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. We acknowledge that we have allowed moralism to substitute for the Gospel. As a church we are grieved over our sin and we have re/committed to depending solely on the grace of God for sanctification as well as for salvation.

Reconciliation and Restoration

The Greek word for reconciliation in Scripture is an economic term meaning “to exchange.” To reconcile means to make the appropriate adjustments on a balance sheet. This, of course, is what Jesus has done on our behalf – reconciling sinners to Himself as we repent and place our trust in His saving work on the cross. In the New Testament when Paul speaks of restoration he uses a word that in another context speaks of mending fishing nets.[2] These words both point to our hope for recovery of what has been separated or lost through our sin and mismanagement.

I. INTRO

Joel 1:1-14; 2:12-17…

The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

² Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? ³ Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. ⁴ What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. ⁵ Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine;
wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. ⁶ A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. ⁷ It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. ⁸ Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. ⁹ Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord. ¹⁰ The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up;
the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails. ¹¹ Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. ¹² The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away.

A Call to Lamentation (or mourning)

¹³ Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth [mourning clothes], you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. ¹⁴ Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

Joel 2:12-17: Rend Your Heart

¹² “Even now,” declares the Lord, “reTURN to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” ¹³ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. ¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing —grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. ¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. ¹⁶ Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. ¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico [porch or doorway] and the altar.  Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God? ’”

Context and significance:

Context: The book was written about 400 BC.  There was a devastation of the land by locusts and drought in an agrarian society.  One theologian said of the book, “In poetic strain of matchless elegance and power, the prophet depicts the invasion of the locusts under the figure of an army.”

Significance:  The great influence of this book in Christian theology lies in its being quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (17-21).  Joel speaks about the “coming of the Day of the Lord” (2:1), which is a prophecy that is partially fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

II. BODY

The concept and practice of Sacred Assembly is seen throughout the OT – and I would argue that it forms the basis for NT worship services – as well as unique time in the life of a church when they are invited, or admonished, to seek God’s presence for a time of restoration, renewal, and refreshing.

OT — Numbers (29:35); Deuteronomy (16:8); 2 Kings (10:20); 2 Chronicles (7:9); Nehemiah (8:18); Isaiah (1:13); Joel 1:14; 2:15.

• The definition, or description of a Sacred (or Solemn) Assembly in the OT…It is a biblical means by which Israel and the Church through the centuries has experienced spiritual renewal through a special season of confession and re-commitment to the Lord and His divine purpose
• What a Sacred Assembly is not: It is not an emotionally charged time of confession, it is not a negative exercise in introspection, and it is not a form of group coercion – it is an emotionally safe setting for honesty and confession.

Wayne Jacobsen, in his book The Naked Church, identifies a biblical pattern (or model) of renewal seen throughout the Scriptures.

• This pattern begins with God’s people becoming complacent – where we begin to rest-in and find comfort in the externals (i.e., how things look – outside appearance).
• This eventually leads to a spiritual dryness – and then deadness.
• God then begins to stir the people – or a church, to hunger and thirst after Him again, to seek the Lord.
• Over time there comes a personal renewal that leads to corporate renewal.

According to Jacobsen, the Sacred Assembly is a biblical model for seeking the Lord at the low point in the cycle.

NT – Now, where do we see this Sacred Assembly pattern, or model, in the NT?  While the words “sacred assembly” are not used, the concept and practice are certainly encouraged…

First of all, at a certain level every weekend worship service is to be a sacred assembly – where:

• We surrender afresh to God through worship in song and Scripture.
• As we remember what Jesus Christ has accomplished through His virgin birth, miraculous ministry, horrific death, glorifying resurrection, and missional ascension  — we are drawn to confess and repent of or sins…
• Repositioning ourselves in the grace to change and grow.
• And often times we partake of communion, remembering Christ’s broken body and shed blood on our behalf.

I would also see the disciples spending 10 days in the upper room spoken of in Acts 1:12-26 as an extended Sacred Assembly.

• Certainly there were times of extended prayer, confession – and worship…
• We also read that there was some leadership, or governance, adjustments made.  They saw the need to replace Judas, with another apostle – Matthias was then numbered with the other 11 (v.26).

Another perspective that is helpful for us is to see the Lord’s admonitions to His church throughout the NT.

As Americans reading the NT we often view the word “you” as speaking to us as individuals, while most of the time the word “you” is plural and speaking to the church – or more specifically to local expressions of the Church (or which we are one).

There are two passages that I’d like to point out today…

• In the letter to the Hebrews, the concept of Sacred Assembly is strong.  Listen as I read Hebrews 12:1-2:  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Another passage is found in Revelation 2-3, where Jesus Himself both affirms and rebukes seven churches.  This section begins to conclude with some familiar words for those of us who have been around the church:  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Please take out the handout in your bulletin…The Transition Team has been working on this document since October.  The list has been shared in the last two summits – and statements have been written about the things we can own as a church.  We want to confess our sin, repent, and invite the Holy Spirit to come afresh and bring fresh life and vitality to SBF.

Review the statements…

Our Transition Team hosted an initial reconciliation gathering last Fri night…

This also coincides with our study of the Beatitudes – specifically becoming “poor in spirit,” and “mourning,” which leads to “meekness” (i.e., humble learner), and then we turn a corner and begin to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (or, the gift of His righteousness).

III. CONCLUSION

So, where do we go from here?

1. Corporate renewal begins with personal renewal.
2. I would invite each of you to spend some honest and surrendered time with God.  I would encourage you to meet in homes over dinner – or to gather to pray.
3. God has humbled SBF.  I would like us to spend some time and consider the Beatitudes from both an individual as well as corporate context.
4. Next week Chris Ryan will be here to speak on Rom 8.  Chris is a local Christian therapist, who for a few years worked out of an office here at SBF.
5. We were scheduled to have a Concert of Prayer next Sunday afternoon.  I’d like us to put that off until I’m back in June (10^th from 4-6pm).
6. The following Sunday Gene Heacock will be back and we will jump back into the Beatitudes.
7. As a church we still need to decide if we want to hold a Sacred Assembly??
8. Out Transition Team – and I hope you as individuals will continue to pursue relational reconciliation with those who are no longer apart of SBF.  When you see them tell them God has humbled us, and that we are sorry for the pain that was inflicted.
9. We are putting together an ad hoc team to work on some core ministry values.
10. Beginning next month we want to launch a process that will identify and train a Search Team for a permanent pastor.  Develop a Church Profile and Pastor Profile.

Roms 5:1-5: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I. INTRO

Recently I purchased a new power speed drill to puncture concrete and  burned out three drill bits because I needed to go slower to actually accomplish the goal I had hoped for.

Your approach will often determine your outcome

Review: There are four approaches towards The Sermon On The Mount:

1. The Liberal
2. The Existential
3. The Literal
4. The Dispensational

Two Approaches Contrast Dostoevsky and Tolstoy — one went mad and the other found Peace. How is it for you?

II. BODY

• The secret to finding peace in the Sermon on The Mount is to see Jesus all the way through.
• He is superior to the law.
• He is sufficient for salvation and He is the Source of Strength.

Jesus demands a ruthlessly realistic look at the deep forces of our humanity that compete for control of your life — deep sexual desires, deep desires for revenge and retaliation and deep anger that explodes.

How do you approach this teaching of Jesus?

Examples Gandhi quote, triple purity- I can do it.

Another extreme: Don’t be meek do what you feel. Example: Basketball player 11 kids with10 different women. What do you inherit if you just do what you feel?

So just don’t be meek be strong do what you want. WHAT WILL YOU INHERIT?

Who are the meek ones? (Greek mythological goddess Makaria) I am living in the land of sufficiency regardless of my circumstances I am not dependent upon my mood my passions the reactions of other people or the threats to my security or safety.

Where does Jesus get this?  Psalm 37:

v.11: “But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”

Look at the adjectives: v.3 trust. v.5 commit your way, v.7 be still, v.9 those who hope, v.9 inherit the land, v.11 inherit the land.

Your blessed if you delight, trust, and hope in the Lord (then) good things, or God things, will come to you

•  World says, “What will not kill you will only make you stronger.”
• Jesus’ way: “What you allow to kill you will make you fully dependent upon God.”

Jesus teaching here is that He not only wants to start a relationship with you, HE WANTS TO SUSTAIN IT WITH HIS STRENGTH.

• Who gets to inherit the land?
• The Meek Moses, Jesus

Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Meekness is strength brought under control. In a Biblical sense it refers to someone who has channeled their strength into the service of God.

A prize fighter whose hands are registered weapons, but only uses strength at the proper time in the proper place for the proper purpose.

Greek word PRAUS means tamed, broken, voice command, under the submission of the Master.

AW Tozer: Study 2,000 years of church history… The one common characteristic of those who have been highly used of God are those who intimately know the Shepherd’s voice and immediately obey when He speaks.

How do people get PRAUS? Biblically speaking (Alan Nelson) there are 5 Ways:

1. Close encounters with God (Isaiah 6)
2. Seeking God in Threatening circumstances (Genesis 32)
3. Meeting God after serious moral failure (Psalm 51)
4. Circumstances that threaten to destroy our lives (Job 1-3)
5. Fervent love for God produces brokenness (Matthew 26:36-46)

III. CONCLUSION – Close Bring it Home to SBF  and prepare for communion…

• Poor: Yes I can see that
• Mourn: Oh I know that
• MEEK: Not me I am an American with Yankee ingenuity, I can fix my poverty and I can snap out of my mourning.  No you can’t. Both of them position you to become meek and let Him live through you.

THE GLOVE ILLUSTRATION: HE IS BOTH THE STRENGTH AND THE CONTROL, you and I are only the glove…

Here is the genius of Jesus it is not MY strength under His control RATHER it is HIS strength out of MY CONTROL.  It is doing LIFE a different way.

New Future at SBF: Not our strength not our control

Spiritual Environment here MAJESTY of GOD, TRANSPARENCY of our SOULS, and THE REALITY of GOD’S PRESENCE.

by Chris Cavanaugh

I. INTRO

These (Beatitudes) are attitudes that prepare us for the actions of the rest of the SOTM.

Attitudes towards God (5:3-5)

• Poor in spirit—the soul desperate for God
• Those who mourn—the soul that clings to God in every suffered loss
• The meek—the soul whose strength waits on a word from God to move
• Hunger and thirst for Righteousness—the soul that totally buys in to God’s way of life

This is like:

• First steps in worship –  like tuning up
• Is 6 –seeing who God is and responding accordingly
• as we see ourselves in reality

(THE Beatitudes also show us ) Attitudes towards others (5:6-12)

• Everyday Mourning: Matthew 5:4
• Remain in the pain

II. EXPOSITION

5:1-4 (READ)

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

PRAY  PRAY  PRAY  PRAY  PRAY

(my personal mourning)

Matt 5:4

blessed—Gr. makares  — A state of being based on our connection to God that says, “It’s OK.” Blessed appropriating the gospel will yield a blessed existence  –ALL MY FOUNTAINS (see Psalm 87:7)

• Cyprus – the happy isle — rich and completely fertile—all one could want.
• (Ancient Greek Homer-blessedness of the gods (within themselves)
• Appropriating the gospel will yield a blessed existence

• abundant life, (Jn 10:10) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
• that your joy may be full— Jn 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
• Full riches-to know Christ, Col 2:2  “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ”
• like the joy of Jesus— “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

• (the blessedness of the Godhead before creation)
• (mourn)

mourn

To mourn Gr. pentheó properly, grieve over a death; (figuratively) to grieve over a personal hope (relationship) that dies, i.e. comes to divine closure (“ends“). AND (“mourn over a death”) refers to “manifested grief” (WS, 360) – so severe it takes possession of a person and cannot be hid. (This is the same meaning of 3996 /penthéō throughout antiquity, cf. LS, R. Trench, Synonyms.)

mourn— a noticeable and full-person grieving over a loss

Those who mourn—souls that cling to God in every suffered loss

If we miss that mourning is an experience that God takes us through with victory and purpose than its all just paper psychological platitudes…

If we can’t see the Holy Spirit’s process of sanctification—of growing us up—than mourning is an emotional exercise that we will not have the capacity to complete.

Mourning in the mid-eastern world

Professional mourners – hire wailing women (moirologists)

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 1 Thess 4:13

Life stops — Jews in this time –The routines of life halted—life seemed to stop for mourning. SACKCLOTH

Eating stops

Strong connection between not eating and mourning.

(Amer Tract Society Bib Dictionary) “The food they took was thought unclean, and even themselves were judged impure.”

“Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners: all that eat thereof shall be polluted,” Hosea 9:4

(((I must not feel the pleasure of fresh clothing, I must not feel the joy of conversation, I must not take comfort in food or in drink or in pleasure. )))

(7 Stages of Gr)

(Here is the grief model called “The 7 Stages of Grief”:
7 Stages of Grief…

1. SHOCK & DENIAL
You will probably react to learning of the loss with numbed disbelief. You may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Shock provides emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once. This may last for weeks.

2. PAIN & GUILT-
As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully, and not hide it, avoid it or escape from it with alcohol or drugs.

You may have guilty feelings or remorse over things you did or didn’t do with your loved one. Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase.

3. ANGER & BARGAINING-
Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay unwarranted blame for the death on someone else. Please try to control this, as permanent damage to your relationships may result. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion.

You may rail against fate, questioning “Why me?” You may also try to bargain in vain with the powers that be for a way out of your despair (“I will never drink again if you just bring him back”)

4. “DEPRESSION”, REFLECTION, LONELINESS-
Just when your friends may think you should be getting on with your life, a long period of sad reflection will likely overtake you. This is a normal stage of grief, so do not be “talked out of it” by well-meaning outsiders. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage of grieving.

During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, reflect on things you did with your lost one, and focus on memories of the past. You may sense feelings of emptiness or despair.

5. THE UPWARD TURN-
As you start to adjust to life without your dear one, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your “depression” begins to lift slightly.

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by the loss —-practical issues
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-
During this, the last of the seven stages in this grief model, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled YOU that existed before this tragedy. But you will find a way forward.

7 stages of grief…

You will start to look forward and actually plan things for the future. Eventually, you will be able to think about your lost loved one without pain; sadness, yes, but the wrenching pain will be gone. You will once again anticipate some good times to come, and yes, even find joy again in the experience of living.

http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html

Everyday Mourning—- LOSS

Why am I doing this?

Do I have to do this? Is this gonna be on the test? Can’t I just read a book? Or go out to eat or watch TV and forget about it?

Most of us are willing to wait until it comes. And it will come. Jesus taught this as a necessary process of our lives so that we’ll have the right attitude toward God and others.

LOSS

• Our loss
• Others loss because of us—that we caused
• Others loss apart from us

a. LOSS   — of closeness In relationship

Mourn for what?

With God

Sin –our own, Sin nature, the (sin of the community)…

Sin nature —(A. Pink, Sermon on the Mount, 19). The Christian having a tender conscience toward his sin and condition has, “an ever-deepening discovery of the depravity of his nature, the plague of his heart, the sea of corruption within—ever polluting all that he does—(and it) deeply exercises him”

Sins we commit—-Matt Henry “…..godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.”

ISAIAH 6: 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another: Holy Holy…..4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Continual state of repentance–

Remain in the Pain

definition of insanity is avoidance of pain

We are certainly in a common class with the beasts; every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain.  —Saint Augustine

Xb.  (Everyday) Mourning  Loss we’ve caused others

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Rom 12:3

When we are in a conflict we tend to think of how we feel. We must be empathetic toward those with whom we’ve been in conflict. We must mourn over how our actions and words have made them feel.

Everyday Mourning      LOSS

3. Others –entering into the loss of others

Neh 1:1-4
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

EMPATHY !

Rom 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

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

“There can be no comfort where there is no grief” –Bruce

I suggest: solitude, quiet, writing prayers, fasting, waiting on God, prayer for your enemies, empathy.

Ecc 3:1

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 III. CONCLUSION

• Plan to mourn—it will take time so you must be intentional. It is a discipline.
• Move into the pain
• Do it with God
• Look within—your sin. Repentance…
• Look without—the pain of those around you.