KINGDOM

PRINCIPLES
BLESSED TO BLESS | THE BEATITUDES
CAMACOP DIVISION OF MISSIONS | OCTOBER 2023
SERMON 2
THE BLESSINGS OF MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
MATTHEW 5:4-5

Introduction
The preacher will make his/her own introduction and do a short review of the 1st sermon— “Blessed are the
poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Let’s read Matthew 5:4-5:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

I. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN.

How can those who mourn be blessed? Blessedness is associated with abundance, prosperity,
wellbeing, health, laughter, happiness, celebrations — good feelings.
When good things happen…when we receive favors, gifts, pleasant surprises and answered
prayers, we feel blessed. That’s right. God blesses us with many good things.
However, when we face death, sorrow, heartbreak, disappointment and loss, we think that God
has forsaken or forgotten us. He doesn’t care for us. Maybe he is punishing us. In our
mourning, we think we are FAR from blessed. Mourning happens because of loss, pain, sorrow,
and suffering.
Blessedness and mourning do not seem to go together, but Jesus gave the good news that in the
Kingdom of heaven, even in mourning there can be blessing.
Jesus said “Blessed are those who mourn.”
Mourning refers to a deep sense of sorrow or grief often arising from the pain of loss and
suffering.
It means ‘grieving and having sorrow of heart, usually being moved to tears.’ (From the Greek
word ‘phenteo’)
We feel grief over things that break our hearts and cause us pain. Like a death of a loved one, a
relationship ending, someone leaving, things not going well in our families, difficult challenges
in our job, a health diagnosis that affects our future and so on.
Mourning is the outward expression of our grief. Mourning involves acknowledging your pain,
embracing your loss and expressing your grief outside of yourself. It involves crying, sharing
your story, asking for help, and looking for comfort.
Mourning is our way of saying, things are not OK. I am sad. I am heartbroken. When we mourn
we acknowledge that we need the comfort of God and the joy of the Lord. We mourn what we
cannot change. We mourn losses. We mourn for mistakes we cannot undo. We mourn difficult
situations we are powerless to do anything about. Mourning means we are limited. We are not
in control. We need God.
While Jesus was on earth, he mourned. He wept over Jerusalem because their eyes were blinded
to the truth so they missed the blessing of Peace that only He could give. (Luke 19:41-44).
Jesus wept over the death of his friend, Lazarus. (John 11:35)
Isaiah 53 describes our Savior:
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain…
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by
him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
KINGDOM PRINCIPLES SERIES 2023
THE BLESSINGS OF MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
MATTHEW 5:4-5

Jesus understands suffering, grief, and mourning. And he says:

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

In the Kingdom of God, there is comfort for those who mourn.
How will those who mourn be comforted?
God Himself will give comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Our God is the God of all comfort. He
is the source of comfort. The Holy Spirit is our advocate, our helper, our comforter who
comes alongside us when we are mourning.
God’s Word brings comfort — When we dig deeper into God’s word, we will find wisdom,
promises, refreshment and comfort. (Example: Psalm 34:18)
God comforts those who mourn through His family. God knows that all of us go through
different moments of grief, so He designed His family to provide comfort for those who are
mourning. That’s why he gave us this command: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn
with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)
God comforts us with the hope of eternal comfort in His eternal Kingdom. This world can
be a hostile place for people who desire to truly follow and obey God. Jesus said to his
disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
We hold on to the hope that one day, we will experience the ultimate comfort in our eternal
home in the presence of our loving Father.

In the Kingdom of Heaven loss, pain, suffering, injustice do not have the last say. Jesus will
redeem the worst parts and the most painful parts of our lives for our good and for His glory.
And all our mourning will turn into rejoicing.

So what now?
Application:
1. Allow yourself to mourn
Not everyone who experiences loss, pain, grief or suffering mourn. Some put on a cheerful face
and pretend that they are OK. Some ignore, deny or suppress their feelings and do not express
their grief. Mourning is one way whereby we can deal with our grief in a healthy manner.
Through our morning, we experience comfort and healing.
“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”
Acknowledge your pain, troubles, suffering, losses, broken relationships, failure,
heartbreak, etc. before the Lord and allow yourself to mourn.
When we recognize our sinfulness, our spiritual poverty, and the ways in which we fall
short of God’s standards, we mourn. We SHOULD mourn. It is a dreadful thing to sin
against a Holy God. (See 2 Corinthians 7:9-10)
When we see the chaos, suffering and trouble caused by natural calamities, injustice, wars,
crimes, sicknesses and many other terrible things, let’s allow ourselves to mourn over the
misery, helplessness, and hopelessness of our broken and sinful world.
Let’s mourn over the devastating effects of sin in the lives of our loved ones, relatives,
friends, people around us and around the world.

KINGDOM PRINCIPLES SERIES 2023

THE BLESSINGS OF MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
MATTHEW 5:4-5

May God grant us the grace to be real before God and one another. May we allow ourselves and
one another to mourn without fear of judgment or being misunderstood. Because in Christ, our
mourning is not hopeless.
Through Mourning we can express our trust, dependence and longing for God to come and help
us.
And as we mourn, let’s receive God’s comfort.

2. Let’s allow God to comfort us through His presence, through His Word and through His
family.
And as we receive God’s comfort,

3. Let’s be willing to be God’s channel of comfort for those who are mourning. (2
Corinthians 1:3-4)
God can use our seasons of mourning to equip us to serve and bless those who are grieving. And
because we ourselves have experienced the Lord’s faithfulness, grace and comfort in our time of
pain, we can comfort others with the comfort that we have received from God.

II. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH
(MATTHEW 5:5)
To see what meekness looks like, all we need to do is to look at Jesus Christ who embodied
meekness throughout his earthly life.
Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth.”
And the Apostle Peter wrote: “He (Jesus) committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made
no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins”
in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds
you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24)
In the kingdoms of the world, people use power, strength, control, manipulation and even force
to get their way. Not so in the Kingdom of God. (See Mark 10:42-45)
The world sees meekness as weakness.
Dictionaries define meekness as —“deficient in spirit and courage; not violent or
strong”(Merriam Webster); docile, overly compliant, spiritless, yielding or tame.
(dictionary.com)
“Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His
control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.”*
Picture a horse who has been trained to follow its trainer, owner or rider. The horse remains to
be a strong animal, yet its strength has been brought under control so it can work with its
rider/owner. Meek people are like that trained horse. They still have strength and power, but
their strength is under the will of God and controlled by the Holy Spirit. (Galatians.5:22-23)

KINGDOM PRINCIPLES SERIES 2023

THE BLESSINGS OF MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
MATTHEW 5:4-5

Meek people do not try to control, manipulate, pressure, push or force people to get what they
want. They choose gentleness instead of harshness. They do not see the need to fight for
themselves and wrestle from others what they think rightfully belongs to them. They trust in the
goodness, righteousness and faithfulness of God. So they are able to willingly give up what is
theirs and lay down their “rights” for the good of others. They have the attitude of Jesus who
meekly humbled himself even unto death on the cross.
However, when we face death, sorrow, heartbreak, disappointment and loss, we think that God
has forsaken or forgotten us. He doesn’t care for us. Maybe he is punishing us. In our
mourning, we think we are FAR from blessed. Mourning happens because of loss, pain, sorrow,
and suffering.

2. The blessing of the meek: “… they will inherit the earth.”

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. An inheritance is obtained
through a relationship with the giver. An inheritance is a grant, a gift, a birthright. The meek
just need to open their hands and receive the blessings of their inheritance as children of God
here on earth and in eternity.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones said:
The meek already inherit the earth in this life, in this way. A man who is truly meek is a man
who is always satisfied, he is a man who is already content. As the Apostle Paul said it well: “…
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet
possessing everything.” ( 2 Corinthians 6:10)
Jesus reminded his disciples, “Do not worry about your life… but seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness and all this things will be added to you as well.” ( Matthew 6:33)
The meek inherit the earth because they are able to live and enjoy abundant life in Christ here on
earth as they humbly turn to God in meekness and entrust their lives to him. But there’s more:
Romans 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with
Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
The meek will enjoy the fulness of their blessing in eternity with Jesus.
Jesus obtained our salvation through His humility and meekness. And as He reigns in glory, we
who meekly follow in His footsteps will enjoy our inheritance with Him.
Revelation 5:9-10 says, — “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open it’s seals, because you
were slain, And with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language
and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and
they will reign on the earth.
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

APPLICATION FOR MISSIONS:

In the Beatitudes, Jesus shows how the kingdom of God is radically different from the
Kingdoms of the world. While the world favors the rich, the Kingdom of God has blessings for
the poor in spirit. While the world looks for entertainment and pursues happiness, Jesus blesses
those who mourn. While the world glorifies the powerful and strong, Jesus blesses the meek.
The culture in God’s Kingdom contradicts with worldly culture. As citizens of God’s Kingdom
and disciples of Jesus, we are His ambassadors and representatives to the world. The question
is, are we living according to our Heavenly Kingdom’s culture? Do people see the “Kingdom
culture” as making a difference in our lives, in our families and our church?
KINGDOM PRINCIPLES SERIES 2023
THE BLESSINGS OF MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
MATTHEW 5:4-5

Are we like our Savior and Lord whose heart mourned for the lostness of humanity and meekly
sacrificed His life so we can be saved?
Mourning and Meekness have these in common:
1. They are fruits of humility — Humility opens the doors to honest mourning and an attitude
of meekness. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and acknowledge that we need His
grace to be what He calls us to be.
2.They involve authenticity — mourning calls us to be honest with our griefs, and meekness
requires sincerity before God and others.
3.They come from hearts that are set on eternity — the blessings and rewards of mourning
and meekness will be fully enjoyed in eternity. So let us remember that our time on earth is
temporary. Let us invest our lives in the Kingdom of God, which will last for eternity.
4.They require complete dependence on the Lord — we cannot be Christlike while living in
the flesh. We need the anointing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. So let’s ask God to
fill us with His Spirit and empower us as we seek to make disciples of all nations and be His
instruments of comfort and grace to a hurting and broken world. (Acts 1:8)

As we go out into the world, let us remember Jesus’ words: “I am sending you out like sheep
among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

—-
*biblehub.com/greek/4239.htm

KINGDOM PRINCIPLES SERIES 2023

 WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS
SERMON Rev. Richel P. Maraat EDITOR Ms. Albina L. Cristobal TRANSLATOR LM Milcah G. Gerada
FRONT COVER ARTIST Ptr. Joerel R. Candido GRAPHICS & LAYOUT LM Nielrose S. Candido