Testimony of Jesus (Pt. 2) Spirit of Mourning & Spirit of Meekness
Introduction Jesus wept. Christ was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He mourned for Lazarus and he mourned when he talked about the destruction of Jerusalem. We must mourn spiritually. Spiritual mourning is demonstrated by fasting. We mourn when we are afflicted. All men born on the earth are afflicted and suffer whether they are good or whether they are evil. Many people mourn because they cannot have the things or pleasures of the world that they want. The righteous have Godly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance.
James 4: 7-10 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.�
Cup of Salvation The cup of Salvation is bitter and sweet, and we must all drink from the cup. We also have to take up our cross and walk with Christ. We must suffer our own small portion of the affliction and sorrow that Christ suffered.
Saints Cry Out! We also cry out against the evil that we see in the world. We cry for the condition of our people, and for our children, especially those who have gone astray. We must stay in constant prayer asking God to intercede on our behalf. God said that there was hope in our end.
Saints Cry Out! Those of us, the watchmen who cry for the children of God are also called Rachel in Jeremiah 31:15. “Thus saith the Lord a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping: Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.� And also the Lord is going to put his seal on the foreheads of those who sigh and cry over the evil in this world. Ezekiel 9:4.
Spirit of Grace & Supplication In the book of Acts, after the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples they began to speak in tongues. After Peter’s strong sermon that convinced the people about Christ, many of them began to repent. The Spirit of Grace and Supplications is the spirit that will fall on the people in the latter days also to lead them to Godly sorrow and repentance. As it is written, or “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced,”(Zechariah 12: 10). For many people this will be the greatest sorrow that they have ever felt, as they are fully convinced of their sins and understand that they have been guilty of the blood of Christ. The spirit of mourning will be fulfilled.
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Spirit of Meekness A meek person is gentle and patient; slow to anger or wrath, humble and harmless as a dove. A meek person may appear to be weak in the eyes of the world. They often appear to be submissive, yet in reality they stand firm in the truth, submitting themselves to the will of God and resisting the forces of the devil.
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The Proud & Arrogant In the eyes of the world the proud and the arrogant are looked upon with high esteem particularly if they are wealthy and famous. Other evil characteristics such as greed and covetousness are admired also because the world loves those who have high positions and wealth. All of these evil traits appear to be strong and manly. Those with the greatest power often have the greatest pride and are ruthless and merciless when it comes to getting what they want.
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Pride Before the Fall In this country some may insist on a thin layer or veneer of kindness or sympathetic words to give an illusion of goodness. It is written that “pride goeth before a fall”,(Proverbs 16: 18), and “he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, (Proverbs 14: 29).
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Christ: Meek & Lowly Christ was meek and lowly in heart. Matthew 11: 28-30, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.� When the apostles were arguing about who should be the greatest Christ told them that they must be humble as a little child in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:1-4.
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We Must Strive to Be Meek It is absolutely necessary to be meek in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We must be meek in order to hear and accept the word of God. James 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.� In this world we are subject to abuse and offenses. We cannot simply fight fire with fire. We cannot take vengeance on others. We may get angry but our anger must be limited. We must learn to control our tongues and our actions.
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Look to the Bible The bible teaches us how to interact in all situations. Christ demonstrated how we must walk when he walked this earth. How do we handle offensive situations? We handle them through the testimonies of Jesus. When we become new people in Christ, then we must choose new ways of dealing with our problems. We also must submit ourselves to the will of God and obey him, trusting our lives in his capable hands and not leaning to our own power.
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In Conclusion A meek person also gives respect and honor to those who are in authority, to parents, to elders, to leaders in the church, and show respect, patience and compassion to those that they have authority over.
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Questions? For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via phone at 219.980.8136 or by email at info@householdofisrael.org.
Special Thanks This presentation was based on a class written by: Evelyn C. Pointer