23/11/11

Sorrow which brings goodness

2 Corinthians 7:11 - For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.


Before I get to the message I like to translate this same script so as to give a better understanding of the text.

2 Corinthians 7:11 - For behold this itself, that ye sorrowed after God, what haste it wrought in you, yea, what defence, yea, what sore displeasure, yea, what fear, yea, what longing, yea, what zeal, yea, what vengeance! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be pure in this matter.

In today's message Paul talks of sorrow. This sorrow is not the worldly sorrow which comes due to loss due to death of a person, or loss of an object, or due to bad human relationship or due to physical pain etc.

The scripture says 'sorrow after God' or 'godly sorrow'. In a few scriptures before Paul describes this sorrow as 'sorrow to repentance'. This is one of the factors of godly sorrow.

Sorrow to repentance is the grief which one goes through on knowing one's spiritual state. It is the time when one realizes the sinful life one is going through and how this life leads to disaster. It is the time when one realizes how one has been hurting God and rejecting the love of God. It is the time when one realizes how one has been operating in the flesh and grieving the Spirit of God. It is time when realizes how far one is from the Kingdom of God.

This sorrow quickens our blessings into our spirit life. This sorrow protects us spiritually. This sorrow brings a hatred for our sinful way of life. This sorrow brings a godly fear into us. This sorrow brings a longing for the Kingdom of God. This sorrow gets us all pepped up in spirit, full of energy. This sorrow sets us to crush the forces that lead us to sin, which take us away from God. This sorrow in all makes us a more pure person and brings goodness in us.

In the beatitudes Jesus tells us 'blessed are they who mourn they will be comforted'. The word comforted in Greek 'parakaleo' also means exhort or lift up, and we learned in the Bible that God does not only lift a person up spiritually but draws that person towards Him.

So if we really want to grow in spirit, let us first be aware of the state of our spiritual life and while repenting let us induce into ourselves a godly sorrow.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, You are Holy and anything unholy cannot stand before You. Even though man went far from You by sinning, yet You love him and desire him to dwell with You. You humbled yourself and came to bring man back unto You. You made a way for us to get forgiveness for our sins and by your Spirit come unto You. Lord, desire us to be holy in whatever little way we can. Help us Lord to realize the life we live will lead us to destruction. Help us repent and have a godly sorrow which will exhort and bring us to You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
2 Corinthians 7:8-12
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.

Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)