A TIME TO WEEP
SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 3:4
“A timetoweep, Andatimeto laugh; Atimeto mourn, And atimeto dance;”
- INTRODUCTION:
- MAN EXPERIENCES BOTH THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, EMOTIONS.
- TIME FOR JOY AND TIME FOR SORROW AND WEEPING.
- WEEPING IS A NATURAL PART OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
- CAN BE EMOTIONALLY CLEANSING.
- CAN BRING INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL RECONCILAITION.
- CAN WEEP FOR GROUPS (JERUSALEM) AND INDIVIDUALS (LAZRUS.)
- DEATH IS A PERFECTLY NORMAL EXPERIENCE IN THIS LIFE OF SIN.
JER. 3:20-22
20Surely, as a wifetreacherously departs from her husband,So have you dealt treacherously with Me,O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
21A voice was heard on the desolate heights,
Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.
For they have perverted their way;
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22“Return, you backsliding children,
And I will heal your backslidings.”
“Indeed we do come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.
Joel 2:11-13, A Call to Repentance
11The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the Lordis great and very terrible;
Who can endure it?
New King James Version (NKJV)
11The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the Lordis great and very terrible;
Who can endure it?
12“Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
Matthew 8
King James Version (KJV)
8When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
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Luke 13:
22.And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
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ACTS 21:Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
14And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
15And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
LUKE 19:And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”[b]
Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy: JOHN 11:
28And when she (MARY) had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was[b] in the place where Martha met Him. 31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”[c]
32Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35Jesus wept.
*REVELATION, 21: 1-4. NO MORE WEEPING.
*PRAY.