Tears
Two situations where tears play a role.
’Mabel" said Roland, leaning across the style. "May I have a word?"
"Of course." Replied Mabel batting her long eyelashes at him. "I’ve always time for you."
She slipped her arm snugly into his and they walked slowly onto the moor.
"Mabel." Stammered Roland his brow furrowed with worry now. "This is rather awkward,
Not that I believe it mind." He offered. "But Mother was telling me that you were seen at the Hunt ball last night with Jeremy Styles - when all the time you told me you were at home with a headache."
"Oh Roland." Said Mabel a huge tear forming in her eye " You don’t trust me - and I had a terrible terrible headache."
"Well there were a hundred and fifty witnesses/" said Roland quietly.
"You don’t trust me do you Roland." Sobbed Mabel "Who are you going to trust those one hundred and fifty witnesses or me - You’ll have to choose Roland."
"Well your photo was on the front page of the Guardian this morning with that dreadful Jeremy." Sighed Roland. "Also don’t think I am not grateful with you helping with the estates finances but I was going over the books this morning and there was $10,000 pounds missing. A cheque was put into your bank account for the same amount."
With that Mabel collapsed weeping - Her tear stained face looked pitifully up at Roland her fiancee for mercy.
Somewhere in Africa last week
Boto lifted up his little sister Esmalra from the limp form of her Mother on the ground.
Flies swirled around her prone body.
"Don’t cry Esmalra! " said Boto from now on I am Momma and Poppa too.
"Oh Boto." Said little Esmalra "What is to become of us?"
At that she wrapped her arms around her big brothers neck her thin bony face stained with tears and the two collapsed to the ground weeping tears of fear and lostness under the hot African sun.
Two very different situations - from two very different worlds.
Both involve tears - the first tears of guilt and sorrow at being caught the second tears of grief, sorrow and fear about a very indefinite future.
This morning I would like to talk about the different tears of Romans chapter 7 and what we can learn from them and how they can help us grow as Christians.
Of course there is no mention of tears in Romans chapter 7 what I am referring to is the sadness each of the situations described leads to and the part tears can play in us gaining what God would have us gain from that particular situation.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The first step on this journey of tears is the tears that come when one realised that their sinful nature has robbed them of their place with God.In our age there is a growing unawareness of the need for tears about sin.Too often we have committed some offence against God and we have merely taken it for granted. esus - In Luke chapter 7 we find a beautiful demonstration of what tears will bring. For the truly sorrowful sinner:-
LK 7:36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
LK 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."
LK 7:40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. LK 7:41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
LK 7:43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. LK 7:44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
LK 7:48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
You get a sense of tears of sorrow being an incredibly important difference in relation to the position the pharisee was in before God and the position that the woman was in.
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
In a sense her tears were born not only out of her sorrow for her sins but also out of gratitude.
Jesus once healed ten lepers but you will remember that only one came back to thank our Lord for his great gift of healing for him.
LK 17:15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.
LK 17:17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
It was this gratitude that put the seal on the Lepers healing - nine didn’t give thanks one did
- tears of gratitude are incredibly important.
So the first stop for consideration of the need for tears - at least in our heart of hearts is when we recognise our sinfulness and our deep gratitude for God’s forgiveness.
We need to have come to this place of tears to be fully mature as Christians - By tears here I am as much referring to an attitude of humility and dependence on God as actual physical tears. You may not naturally cry - it may not be something that happens to you - but our attitude is to be one of sorrow and gratitude none the less - We are to live our tears if in fact we don’t actually cry physical tears.
The second place of tears. That we find in Romans - is - also found in Romans chapter 3:-
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
RO 3:11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
RO 3:12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
RO 3:13 "Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
RO 3:14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
RO 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
RO 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
RO 3:17 and the way of peace they do not know."
RO 3:18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
This place of tears is the state of the world - the sinful state of the world around us:-
These verses accurately describe the world around us. "There is no one righteous, not even one;
RO 3:14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
RO 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
RO 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
Two nights ago I was alarmed to hear on the BBC news the plight of at least 52 people - 12 killed and forty wounded outside the American Embasy in Pakistan.
These 52 people going about their ordinary lives suddenly were blasted out of their ordinary lives.
Thousands of relatives and friends as a result of this one incident would suddenly find themselves bought to tears of grief sorrow and anger -
RO 3:14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
RO 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
RO 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
In our own lives we often see tears bought about by many great sadnessess -
In our own town there has been the tragic loss just two nights ago of James Nichol - suddenly he is not with us and there are many tears right around our own district and neighbourhood.
When such tears happen what does Jesus do -
There are two areas:-
LK 8:49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don’t bother the teacher any more."
LK 8:50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."
LK 8:51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."
LK 8:53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
When Jesus faces tears - he always brings hope and healing.
It is true that not everyone is healed, nor is everyone raised from the dead - but it is true that in such circumstances when Christ is let into the situation a peace comes that passes all human reason -
AC 20:17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
Secondly.. Jesus faces tears about his own situation he gives us a great insight about what to do in times of trial and tribulation:-
MT 26:36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
MT 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
MT 26:40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
MT 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Jesus here faces his own particular trial and difficulty and I am sure that many of you here today have faced great trials and difficulties.
You may ask what do I do in such trials.
Jesus gives us three important insights as to what to do.
1. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
2.Recognise the constant insistence on the flesh or the soul to lure the body into weeknessess into times of trial:-
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Many great Christians have lost there way on this very point.
3.Finally - The difficult situation you may be going through may be going to work out for God’s purposes not your own: In that case you may need to yield to the prayer of Jesus MT 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
There are then these three places of tears.
Tears over our sins
Tears of gratitude for what God has done.
Tears about the weight of human suffering including our own.
All of these we can do something about.
But there is a fourth place of tears that we need to regard.
RO 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
25 God presented him (Jesus.)as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
We need to consider the tears of God.
We do that by realising just who it was God presented for our sins.
In the scriptures we find that Jesus is God’s son.
At his Baptism God is so pumped with pride in his son who has obeyed him that he speaks into the baptism with an audible voice:-
Matthew chapter 3 verse 17
17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
LK 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.
Here Jesus exposes God’s heart towards the rebellion and blindness of the world.
When the world fails to recognise God = as Jerusalem was doing God weeps.
He feels the pain of every snub and rebellion towards him.
It is God’s heart that is broken when we sin.
When we fail to understand that then God feels the pain and the hurt of our rejection
If we fail to understand this then we will sin easily without realising the effect of our sin upon God.
Two days ago on television a Palestinian suicide bomber was shown on television - he had been treated by his enemies the Jews in one of their hospitals over many weeks.
During this time the eighteen year old idealist saw his enemies in a different light.
He saw compassion and love - he saw with horror that his own actions of murder were indiscriminate they were killing good people -
In such a moment he vowed before worldwide television that given the same opportunity he would never do that again.
Many of our actions that we take pride in are just like that before God.
Our sin and rebellion grieve the heart of God they bring him to tears.
Eventually of course they bring us to separation from God.
EPH 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
EPH 4:20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
When we understand the tears of God and the role of tears in our own lives then we will certainly live in a radically different way to the rest of the world.
