Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5: 4.  Jonah 3

Our focus this morning Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”                

PRAYER

Christian Francis S. Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, the world’s largest collaborative biological project.

On his website introduction page I quote, “Francis Collins is a scientist and believer and finds no conflict between those worlds.

However, the former atheist didn’t always embrace these perspectives. It wasn’t until he went to medical school and encountered life and death issues at the bedside of his patients where he was constantly challenged with the question “what do you believe, doctor?” that he began searching for those answers. Through that journey, he found Jesus Christ.  Collins has led a consortium of scientists to read out the 3.1 billion letters of the human genome, our own DNA instruction book. As a believer, Collins said he sees DNA  as “the information of all living things, as God’s language, and the elegance and complexity of our own.”

Francis Collins I would say has been able to see that God in his character is both factual having the perfect analytical mind and has given humanity the capability of unlocking the understanding about DNA through God’s universal language of a mathematician.

Secondly in his answer to “What do you believe doctor?” in Francis’ character I think he was open to seek beyond logical thinking, to look into the God’s manual the Bible. It’s the only book written where the author is always present when it’s being read. The Holy Spirit revealing Jesus to him.

In the Bible we can see the emphasis on the theological factual truths in prophesies fulfilled and secondly the attitudes, emotions and relationships from the people who were working out their salvation in daily life in Biblical times, that we can relate to now.

Jesus acknowledged as a fact that Jonah was in the stomach of the whale for 3 days and nights. And in his divine humanity in his ministry he compared his message of repentance to Jonah’s ministry  “They repented at the teaching of Jonah,” “But, someone greater than Jonah is here.” To explain what he meant in Luke’s account where Jesus was addressing the 70 disciples to go out with the Kingdom message, “Repent for the kingdom of God has come near to you.” and he instructed his disciples to wipe off the dust from their feet over the towns that did not receive them.    Jesus cursed Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum  because they had not repented. Matthew 12: 40. Luke 10: 10, 13.                                                       Jesus’ character being like that of His Father, we read in Deuteronomy 28 the first 14 verses Moses spoke of God’s blessings and for the remainder of the chapter (50 verses) God’s curses for disobedience.

The disciples returned with joy over their successful mission, how blessed and comforted Jesus was. Jesus had great concern for the people to repent and how he rejoiced and was comforted when he heard many had done so. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Mourning for sin and comforted when people repent.

God calls us to fulfil  his purpose, the great commission:

”Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. . . . .  Those who believe and is baptised will be saved, but those who do not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16: 15, 16.

Jonah having heard from God to go to Nineveh with God’s message “Repent or in 40 days your city will be destroyed.” Overwhelmed by the task, he fled in another direction.

In 2001 I published my book “The Messiah’s Secret” I was asked by Pastor John Young of Manchester Messianic Church to go with him to all the synagogues in Manchester, to tell them what God had revealed to me that ‘Pentecost was the time for the Jews as a nation to receive Jesus as their Messiah,and  not before Jesus was crucified.       But I couldn’t do it, at the time I was under great spiritual pressure, it seemed too big a task.    In 2009 God gave me a second opportunity and I put the word ‘The Messiah’s Secret’ on-line and I updated it in 2013 ‘The Messiah’s Secret Revealed.’.

Jonah swallowed up by a whale

It was after Jonah experienced falling from the whale’s mouth into its stomach where there he prayed and died and after three days was spewed out alive. God spoke to him again to go with his message, this time he responded to God’s call and went to Nineveh. Jonah watched over the city to see if God would destroy it. He doubted that their repentance was genuine. He was a pessimist But God responded to the cities King his heart-felt repentance, and didn’t destroy their city. 

Attitude  –    Jonah’s attitude changed after he had prayed during his time within the whale and died to his own will. Afterwards he was committed to take the message to the people of Nineveh.Jonah 2: 6

Emotion  –   His fear was conquered.

Relationship – he had regained God’s blessing on his life through obedience..

For us today

God the Father recognises our concern over the sin in the world and in his love for us as we respond to go out with his message, we have assurance that we will be blessed and comforted. Mourning for sin and comforted by repentance.

Character building going on in our lives.

Jesus describes his followers as a city:

Matthew 5: 14 “You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hid.”

Revelation 21: 2 “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

The characteristics of a heavenly city:

• Residential areas– where we live in our communities.

Attitude –  our attitude should reflect the light In our house, our bodies are the dwelling place of God and so we are blessed by putting God at the centre of our lives,

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3: 2, 3

• Areas in city of deprivation, run down dwellings; broken down after years of neglect. Proverbs 25: 28

Emotions  We feel how God feels about sin and our message is in earnest because we want people to be saved from eternal death.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not  perish, but have eternal life.” John 3: 16

• Areas of commercial trading: business parks, and shopping malls, banks and supermarkets.

God calls us to take out this message about Jesus’ It’s the parable of the talents, being actively involved in mission.

In our special Relationship through Jesus’ death the cross, he took upon himself all that separates us from God and through faith and repentance we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the eternal life.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 1: 3. 2: 10.

How blessed we are as God holds us in the palm of God’s hand, The Lord’s character building in the areas  of our lives to reflect the light of His glory.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.”

Amen