WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.280 Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. 2 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.000 We are so glad you're here with us. Today. We're 3 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:10.480 going to continue. 4 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.119 Our series called The Keys to a Blessed Life. Now 5 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:16.879 when these messages, Rick walks through Jesus' Sermon on the 6 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.839 Mount and shows us how to live a truly hopeful 7 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.519 and purpose filled life. All right, now, here's part one 8 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:26.120 of how God blesses broken hearts. 9 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:30.239 Now, the fact of life is that life is tough. 10 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:34.560 Everybody agree with that. It's not easy. 11 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:39.479 Life is tough, life is hard, life is difficult. Since 12 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:43.320 Adam Send the world was broken and everything on the 13 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:48.479 planet is broken. Nothing works perfectly. I've said this many times. 14 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.240 Your body doesn't work perfectly, the economy doesn't work perfectly, 15 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.359 no relationship works perfectly. Your marriage doesn't work perfectly. And 16 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:02.920 life is full of losses. We have defeats and we 17 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:06.879 have disappointments. This is not heaven. That's why we pray 18 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:08.879 Thy will be done on earth. This is in heaven 19 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.359 because in heaven there are no defeats, there are no disappointments. 20 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:17.879 But on earth nothing works perfectly all the time. So 21 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.719 we have trials and tribulations. We have sorrow, and we 22 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:26.040 have suffering. We have problems and pressures. We have, as 23 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.519 I said, defeats and disappointments. Now, how do you rise 24 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:34.799 above the inevitable losses in your life? How do you 25 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:38.840 rise above them? Well, today we come to the second beatitude. 26 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.400 It's Matthew chapter five, verse four, and Jesus says this, 27 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:49.760 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 28 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.599 Now in the eight ways to be blessed by God. 29 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.519 The second way. This seems so ludicrous when you think 30 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:03.000 about it, so un normal, so irrational. When he says 31 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:05.159 the way to be blessed is to mourn. 32 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:07.719 What in the world. 33 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:09.599 Does he mean by that? In other words, the way 34 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:12.759 to be happy is to be sad. That just seems 35 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.000 like a great reversal. What does he mean by this, 36 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:21.319 God blesses those who mourn. Well, that's what we're going 37 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:24.599 to look at this weekend on how to handle the 38 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:28.520 losses of life and how God blesses a broken heart. Now, 39 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:31.599 I don't know what you're going through right now. I 40 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.639 hope you're going through a relatively easy time, but you 41 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:39.560 may not. Some of you came to service this weekend 42 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:45.680 all churning, inside, you've got conflicts, you've got chaos, you've 43 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:48.680 got a bad health report, you just got laid off, 44 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:53.280 you've had a fight with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife. 45 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:56.960 The money isn't there where you need it, and you're 46 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:01.199 under tension. And many people watching online right now, there 47 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:05.560 are things you've had a loss in your life, or 48 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.400 you've had a death in your life, if you had 49 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:12.439 something that has caused you to have grief now this 50 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.080 last year, as you know, I've gone through a year 51 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:21.680 long journey with grief since Matthew died, and I've learned 52 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.520 a lot. I've learned a lot about grief that I 53 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.960 didn't even know a year ago. And what I want 54 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.319 to do this weekend is just kind of summarize a 55 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:32.599 few of those ideas. I think someday I'll probably write 56 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.280 a book on it because I've learned so much about it. 57 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:37.560 But I want to just give you a few things 58 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.919 on how to be blessed in a broken world. Now, 59 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:44.560 let me give you a couple of things. Write these down. 60 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:47.000 Here's just a couple of insights before we actually get 61 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.879 into it. One of them is this God doesn't expect 62 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:54.159 me to be happy all the time. That's just a 63 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:57.120 fact of life. God doesn't expect you to be happy 64 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.719 all the time. There is this myth that Christians, if 65 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:02.919 you're a believer, if you know Jesus, you should be 66 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:08.479 always smiling, always happy, always cheerful, skipping the hills and 67 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:12.919 picking flowers and talking about peace and love. No, that's 68 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:18.120 rainbow bright, not a Christian, okay. And when you become 69 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.240 a follower of Jesus, it doesn't mean you become a 70 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:23.480 Pollyanna or an annie little orphan ane. And the sun 71 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:25.720 will come up tomorrow and it's always up up into 72 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.079 the pool and you're always happy. 73 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:28.399 No, no, you're not. 74 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:34.079 In fact, the Bible says in Ecclesiastes three four, there's 75 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:38.199 a time for everything. There's a time for everything, and 76 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:43.560 there's a season for every activity under heaven. In other words, 77 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:47.759 life is a series of opposites. There's a time to weep, 78 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.639 there's a time to laugh, there's a time to mourn, 79 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:56.800 and there's a time to dance. And so the Bible 80 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:00.959 says that sometimes weeping is appropriate, sometimes more is appropriate, 81 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:04.959 sometimes grieving is appropriate. Because the fact is the world 82 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.879 is filled with a lot of sadness. All you have 83 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.839 to do is read the paper and read about little 84 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:16.319 girls getting kidnapped, and fires and murders and wars and 85 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.959 all kinds of things. There's a lot of pain on 86 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:26.480 this planet, and sometimes the only appropriate logical response to 87 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:28.319 life is grief. 88 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:31.160 God doesn't expect. 89 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.519 You to simply grin and barrett, to stuff your emotions 90 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:36.920 and to smile in the middle of all of the 91 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.279 storms of life. No. In fact, the Bible says, blessed 92 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:45.120 are those who mourn. God blesses you when you grieve. 93 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:49.040 Why why does he do that? Well, we're gonna we're 94 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:52.079 gonna look at that now. A lot of people think 95 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.480 that grief is only for funerals, like you know, if 96 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.199 you lose a loved one, then then you grieve. But 97 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.560 the fact is, there are a lot of losses in life. 98 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.120 There are thousands of losses. You can lose your health, 99 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:06.639 you can lose your job, you can lose your money, 100 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.759 you can lose your reputation, you can lose your energy, 101 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.279 you can lose a dream. There are thousands of different 102 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:18.600 losses in life, and God says the only appropriate response 103 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.040 to the losses of life is not to fake it, 104 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.639 but to face it, and not to go around grinning. 105 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.120 But to actually grieve. There's a time for every activity 106 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:31.319 under heaven. I actually went through a study this week 107 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.639 of what the Bible says we're supposed to mourn and grieve, 108 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.600 and I'm not going to get into that. 109 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:38.000 That would be two or three sermons. 110 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:41.120 But the Bible says, i to mourn my losses, which 111 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:43.360 is things. 112 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:44.560 Bad things that happen to me. 113 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.519 And the Bible says, I'm to mourn my disappointments, which 114 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.759 are good things that didn't happen to me. To hear 115 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.040 that good things that didn't happen to you, that's a 116 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.720 reason to mourn. The Bible says, I'm to mourn my sins, 117 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.000 and I'm to grieve over my sin. The Bible says, 118 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.720 I'm to grieve and mourn over the suffering in the 119 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:05.160 world and not be. 120 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:07.879 Blase about it. 121 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.519 The Bible says, I'm actually to grieve for my friends 122 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.639 who don't know Jesus, who are spiritually lost. And there 123 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.439 are a lot of things the Bible tells us to 124 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:18.959 grieve over that God doesn't expect you to be happy 125 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:21.680 all the time. Second thing write this down is that 126 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:28.040 grief is essential to my health. Grief is essential to 127 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.759 my health. It's essential to my emotional health, to my 128 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:34.800 spiritual health, to my physical health. 129 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:36.800 And to my mental health. 130 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:41.160 In fact, if you never grieve about anything, if you're 131 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.800 never sad about anything, it means one of three things. 132 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:47.399 A you're out of touch with reality, because there's a 133 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:48.079 lot of things. 134 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:49.279 To be sad about in this world. 135 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.480 Or B you are out of touch with your own 136 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:54.120 emotions and you're living in denial. 137 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:55.879 Or see, you. 138 00:07:55.879 --> 00:08:00.759 Don't love because when you love and you see sad things, 139 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:05.480 that makes you grieve. Now, grief is a painful emotion, 140 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:09.160 but it's a healthy emotion, and it's a helpful emotion, and. 141 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.040 It is God's gift. 142 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:12.720 It's the tool that God gives us to get through 143 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:15.959 the transitions of life. I've told you this before. There 144 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:20.360 is no growth in your life without change. You can't 145 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.839 grow without change. There is no change without loss because 146 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:26.000 you lose some of the old. 147 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:26.199 For the new. 148 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.800 There is no loss without pain, and there is no 149 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:32.720 pain without grief. To go through life without grieving would 150 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.200 be like a mother who says I want to have 151 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:38.200 a baby without going through the pain of labor. It 152 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:41.639 ain't going to happen. It isn't going to happen now. 153 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:46.559 There are two unhealthy reactions to the losses of life. 154 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.559 One is repression and the other is suppression. Repression is 155 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:55.440 when I conscious unconsciously try to block a painful thought 156 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:56.120 out of my mind. 157 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:57.080 That's repression. 158 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:01.279 I unconsciously try to block a pain painful thought out 159 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:05.120 of my mind. Suppression is when I consciously try to 160 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.559 block a pain. I'm not gonna think about that. I'm 161 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:09.080 not gonna think about that. I'm not gonna think about it. 162 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.000 When I consciously try to block a painful thought out 163 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.559 of my mind. Both of these are denials. When you 164 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:19.440 go through a tough time, when your heart is hurting, 165 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:24.240 when your heart is breaking, God doesn't want you to 166 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.480 suppress it. God doesn't want you to repress it. God 167 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.840 wants you to express it to friends and confess it 168 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:36.960 to him. And when you do that, you're on the 169 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:40.399 road to healing. I want you to write this down. 170 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:45.000 If I don't let it out, I will act it out. 171 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.200 If I don't let it out in healthy ways, I'm 172 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:53.240 going to act it out in unhealthy ways. Some of 173 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.240 you were hurt many years ago growing up. Maybe your 174 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:01.240 parents divorced, maybe you were abused, maybe you were hurt 175 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:03.039 by something somebody said about you. 176 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:04.639 And it hurt very, very deeply. 177 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:07.840 But as a child, you didn't know how to grieve healthy. 178 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:10.360 You didn't know how to grieve good, so you just 179 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:12.879 pushed it down and you stuffed it down, and you've 180 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:17.200 never grieved over that hurt. Well, you need to go 181 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:19.960 back and grieve over why, because if you don't grieve 182 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.759 the losses of life, you get stuck at that stage. 183 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.399 Let me say that again. This is one of the 184 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.399 most important things you're ever going to learn. When you 185 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:32.799 don't grieve, when you don't go through grief and a paint. 186 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.279 When pain happens in your life and you don't let it, 187 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.320 you don't feel it, you push it down. You get 188 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.080 stuck emotionally at that stage, and you spend the rest 189 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:46.240 of your life reacting to something that happened a long 190 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:48.519 time ago, and you're taking it out on the people 191 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:53.919 around you now. And that's not fair. It's unhealthy to 192 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.879 stuff it. You've heard me say this before. When I 193 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:03.240 swallow my grief, my stomach keeps score. If I don't 194 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:06.080 talk it out, I take it out on my own 195 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:09.600 body or on other people. And if I don't let 196 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:12.519 it out in healthy ways, then I'm going to act 197 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:17.120 it out in unhealthy ways. And when you swallow negative emotions, 198 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:22.120 your body gets sick. I've said many times it's not 199 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:26.120 just what you eat, it's what eats you that makes 200 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:26.840 you sick. 201 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.240 David talked about this in Psalms. 202 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:32.240 Notice on your outline, David says, and so I'm thirty two, 203 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:37.440 verse three. When I kept things to myself, I felt 204 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.080 weak deep inside me. 205 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.240 And I moaned all the day long. 206 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.120 Now circle the word moan. When you go through a 207 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.000 loss in life. You lose a job, you lose a friend, 208 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:53.799 you lose a deal, you lose something in your life 209 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.559 that you were hoping would happen, or something you had. 210 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:57.240 And you lost it. 211 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:01.879 You lose a marriage, Either mourn or you can moan. 212 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:10.200 Moaning is negative, Mourning is positive. Moaning is having a 213 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:14.559 pity party. Mourning is calling out to God in your 214 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:18.440 grief and in your pain. So I'm thirty nine, verse two, 215 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:22.799 David says, I was silent and I held my peace 216 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:27.600 to no avail, and my distress only grew worse. 217 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:29.399 If you don't. 218 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:32.000 Grieve the losses in your life, if you're too busy 219 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:33.320 and you just have to stop it. 220 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:34.399 I can't think about it. 221 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.320 You try to do the Clint Eastwood, you know, strong 222 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:39.840 silent type. We're just grin and bear and you press 223 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.399 on and you don't even stop to mourn a loved 224 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:47.440 one's death. If you don't do that, then what happens 225 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.240 is he says, my distress only grew worse. 226 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:51.600 So what am I saying? 227 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.039 The things that happened to you around you, the bad 228 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:56.559 things happen to they're not your choice. 229 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.639 But grief is a choice, and it's a help choice. 230 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:03.120 And when you choose to let it out, you have 231 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.799 to choose to allow yourself to feel the sad emotions. 232 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:10.600 So I don't like feeling said, no, you don't. But 233 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:15.159 not everything that's helpful feels good. Not everything that's healthy 234 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:18.679 feels good. If you don't mourn the losses of life, 235 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:22.519 you get stuck at that stage. Now, this weekend, what 236 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:25.440 I want us to look at is how God blesses 237 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:30.600 broken hearts because the second Beatitude Jesus says this, God 238 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:35.320 blesses those who mourn. Now, I want God to bless 239 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:38.559 your life. I want God to bless your life in 240 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:40.720 spite of all the bad things that have happened and 241 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:42.879 in spite of all the bad things that are gonna happen, 242 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.159 and in order for God to bless your life, Jesus says, 243 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:50.679 blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 244 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.799 How does God comfort me when I grieve? I'm an 245 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:57.919 authority on this one. I can speak from experience on 246 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:01.679 how God comforts. And as I look back over my life, 247 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:07.559 I see six ways that God blesses a broken heart. 248 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:12.840 Since Matthew died, I have cried every single day since 249 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.279 he died. That's not a sign of weakness. That's a 250 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:21.879 sign of love. Deep love cares, Deep love is strong. 251 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:27.080 So how do you get through You don't get over it. 252 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:29.759 A lot of people think, well, I'm just gonna get 253 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:31.679 over this grief. No, you're not gonna get over it. 254 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.440 If it's serious. If you're married for a certain number 255 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:37.000 of years and then you divorce, you don't get over it. 256 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:40.200 You get through it. If you have a loved one, 257 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.840 a husband or wife who dies. 258 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:42.720 You don't get over that. 259 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.440 You get through it. Now, you can't go over grief. 260 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:50.159 You can't go under grief. You can't go around grief. 261 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.159 You gotta go through the grief. And if you're scared 262 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:56.879 to express emotion, and you refuse to go through it. 263 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.639 That is said, that's where you get stuck. But how 264 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:02.639 do I get unstuck? 265 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:03.039 You? 266 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:07.720 Let God help you, Let God comfort you. Blessed are 267 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.840 those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And how 268 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:12.240 does God comfort us? 269 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.840 Six ways? Write these down? Number one. 270 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.960 The first way God blesses a broken heart is God 271 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:23.080 draws us close to himself. He draws us in close 272 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:27.720 to himself. Look at these verses, Psalm thirty four, verse eighteen. 273 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:34.200 The Lord is close to the broken hearted, and he 274 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:39.039 says those whose spirits have been crushed. When you are grieving, 275 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.519 you often feel like God's a million miles away. But 276 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.320 He's not a million miles away. He's never been any closer. 277 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:49.200 What you feel and what's real are not the same thing. 278 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.840 Not everything you feel is real, and not everything that's real. 279 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:53.559 Do you feel? 280 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:57.639 The Bible says God is close to the broken hearted. 281 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:01.480 He's paying attention, he's not aloof, he's not distant. Hebrews 282 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.639 thirteen to five. I will never leave you. Circle that never. 283 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:08.480 That means even in your worst pain, It means even 284 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.840 in your most embarrassing disgrace, It means, even in your 285 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:16.159 most massive failure, even in the thing you're most ashamed 286 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:19.759 of in your life, I will never leave you, and 287 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:25.039 I will never abandon you. And Tewod Corinthians six 't 288 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:30.200 ten says this our hearts ache. But at the same 289 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.399 time we have the joy of the Lord. 290 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.440 What does that mean? That's the difference Jesus makes. 291 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.320 If you don't have Jesus in your life, then God 292 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:42.960 isn't close to you at that moment, and you're on 293 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:46.759 your own. You don't have any other resources. You're there 294 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:50.679 to handle the pain by yourself. God never intended for 295 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.320 you to handle the pain by yourself. First, the Bible says, 296 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:55.799 God draws us close to himself. And then here's the 297 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:57.080 second thing. Write this down. 298 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:05.599 God grieves with us. God grieves with us. Now. 299 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.400 The reason you have the ability to grieve is because 300 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.799 you are made in God's image. The Bible tells us 301 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.880 that God grieves. The Bible tells us that God weeps 302 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:19.519 when he sees in humanity on earth. 303 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:20.079 He weeps. 304 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:23.279 When God sees a sin, he weeps. When God sees 305 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:27.000 war's destroying people. When God sees his planet being destroyed, 306 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:31.000 God weeps. God grieves and we're made in God's image, 307 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.640 And the Bible says God weeps with us. In other words, 308 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:36.519 sees God is a suffering God, and God is a 309 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:41.160 sympathetic God. He's not aloof he's not apathetic, he's not 310 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:44.599 standing on the sidelines. He suffers with us. Look at 311 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:46.759 this verse up here on the screen. Isaiah fifty three, 312 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:52.200 verse three says this Jesus was a man of sorrows. 313 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:54.920 Have you ever seen that verse? Jesus, it's out of 314 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:59.880 Isaiah's prophecy, was a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. 315 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:04.680 He knew suffering firsthand. So when you come to Jesus, 316 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:06.960 it's not like Jesus, goes, I have no idea what 317 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:10.880 you're talking about. When your heart is breaking and you're 318 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:13.200 in pain, it's not like Jesus going, I don't understand it. 319 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.920 I don't get that. Just buck up and put on 320 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:19.759 a happy face. No, Jesus was a man of sorrows. 321 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.640 He was acquainted with grief. Let me just give you 322 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:27.039 one example there on your outline. When his friend Lazarus died, 323 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:29.920 The Bible says to John eleven, when Jesus saw a 324 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:36.839 lazarus sister sobbing, and he saw how all those with, 325 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:42.039 all those with he was were crying. Also his heart 326 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:48.079 was touched and he was deeply moved. Then Jesus started crying. 327 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.160 See how much he loved Lazarus. 328 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:53.599 They say ctricle the word love. 329 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:57.200 You know, I told you that grief is actually an 330 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.359 evidence of love. And the more you love, the more 331 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.920 you're gonna grieve about things. If you're apathetic, if you're callous, 332 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:06.759 you don't have any love in your life. You don't 333 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.480 care what happens to anybody else, It doesn't bother you. 334 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.359 You don't grieve about the tragedy, even your next door neighbor, 335 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:16.319 if you don't love them, you don't care. The more 336 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:21.240 you love, the more you're gonna understand grief. And it 337 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.440 says Jesus started crying. You know, the shortest verse in 338 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.519 the Bible is John eleven thirty five. It's two words, 339 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:31.960 Jesus wept, John eleven thirty five. That's your memory verse 340 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.440 for the week. Okay, everybody can do that. Say it, 341 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.200 John eleven thirty five. 342 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:40.440 And what did this say? Jesus wept? And where is that? 343 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:42.680 John eleven thirty five. 344 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:45.480 That's the shortest verse in the Bible. You just memorized 345 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:49.519 the Bible verse. It's only two words, Jesus wept. But 346 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.119 what does it say. It says we have a suffering God. 347 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.480 We have a God who sympathizesus, who understands, who knows us. 348 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.680 And the Bible says Jesus started crying. Now, let me 349 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.400 just say to the guys. Guys, we're not very good 350 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:08.160 at grief. It's not a macho thing. We don't like 351 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:13.279 negative feelings. Men don't like to feel negative. They don't 352 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:17.720 like bad things. They certainly don't like sorrow. And we're 353 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:23.240 taught growing up. You know, in fact, parents, you need 354 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.920 to stop teaching your kid to stuff their emotions, because 355 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.480 one of the first things parents, stop your crying. Stop 356 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:33.079 your crying, Stop your crying. Really, is that what you 357 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:35.880 really want? You want to teach people to stuff their emotions, 358 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:38.119 The Bible says. 359 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.440 Jesus started crying. 360 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:44.559 Sadness is not weakness. Jesus was the strongest man who 361 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:48.599 ever lived. A showing for a man to show emotion 362 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:51.079 is not a sign of weakness. It's actually a sign 363 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:56.799 of strength. Weak men are scared of their emotions. Weak 364 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.680 men are afraid of tears breaks them out. 365 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:06.440 They go nutty. Why because it scares them. When you're a. 366 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:11.079 Strong man, you're not afraid of emotion, You're not afraid 367 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.160 to show it. You're not even afraid to cry. Jesus 368 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.480 was the strongest man who ever lived. So never be embarrassed. 369 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.519 Never be embarrassed by tears. In fact, the Bible says 370 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:25.000 Jesus was sent to comfort us. Look at this Isaiah 371 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:29.319 sixty one, verse two and three. The Bible says He 372 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:34.000 has sent me Jesus to comfort all who mourn, to 373 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:38.720 give those who mourn and Zion joy and gladness instead 374 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:43.400 of grief, and a song of praise instead of sorrow. 375 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:48.000 So the first two ways that God blesses a broken 376 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.599 heart is he draws us close to himself. He says, 377 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:52.079 I'm going to be with you. You're not going to 378 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:54.400 go through this on your own. And number two, I'm 379 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:57.359 going to feel it with you. The pain you feel 380 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:01.680 in that separation, God feels it. The pain you feel 381 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:05.160 in that loneliness, God feels it. The pain you feel 382 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:08.880 in that rejection, God feels it. The pain you feel 383 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.599 in that embarrassment, that disgrace. God feels it. 384 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:17.240 He is with you, and he is feeling it with you. 385 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.319 Such a great message from Pastor Rick today, and I 386 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:28.720 hope you were just as encouraged as I was. 387 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.599 Once again, here's Rick. Hello everybody. 388 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:35.599 This is Rick and I have just returned from Amsterdam 389 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:40.079 where I was at a conference where we had over 390 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:44.359 six thousand church leaders pastors from all around the world. 391 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:48.119 Literally one hundred and forty nations came to Amsterdam for 392 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.440 a week of training where we were teaching them about 393 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:54.359 the good news of Jesus Christ. More importantly, how to 394 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:57.640 share the good news of Jesus Christ and help finishing 395 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.319 the task around the world in the next ten years. 396 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.039 That's the goal to get the gospel to every person 397 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.960 in the world in the next ten years, by twenty 398 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.440 thirty three, which is the two thousandth birthday of Christianity. 399 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:13.880 And you know what was the most exciting to me 400 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:17.079 is that people came to me from all around the world. 401 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.559