New Life Baptist Church - Part 8 — Paul Washer

The Call to Hear the Word of God

A guest speaker, you want to introduce them. Well, I'll tell you what I know about Brother Paul Washer, okay? I know that his desire is to preach the Word of God, that God would be glorified. And I cannot think of a more wonderful introduction than to introduce a man of God to preach the Word of God.

So, Brother Washer, if you will.

I would like to thank you for the great privilege that is mine to be here with you and to preach. And before I go any further, I would like to thank you for your hospitality, the place that you've prepared for me, I thank you for the snacks that were left, and just your kindness.

Pastor asked me, he said, well, is everything suitable to you? I said, Pastor, you're talking to a man who's lived in a tent. Anything is suitable to me. But it is wonderful, and I thank you very, very much, very much.

Oye, hermana, como estas? Bien? Ah, que bien. We have almost a family, I guess. My wife is Latin, and it's such a blessing always. It's good to see you here. Good to see you, all right. Before I go any further, I'd like to go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, I come before you in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, and I have nothing except Him, and He is sufficient. Father, I renounce all hope in piety, all hope in devotion. Lord, I have come to know that I can't even sing of my love for you because it's such a pitiful, fickle thing.

I rejoice. I disdain what I have done, and I rejoice in what you have done for me. I thank you for your mercy that's new every morning. I thank you for your grace that knows no bounds. I thank you for your kindness, and I would pray, Lord, that you would work in me and change me, work through me.

And, Lord, I am well aware that the only reason I stand here tonight is because I am the most vile, the most base, the most thing that is not, the weakest. You always use the weakest, and I praise you.

In Jesus' name, amen. I want us to go to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, verse 13. Before I read this text, it's important to understand that although we must preach what God has laid upon our heart to preach, that very often what He's laid upon our heart to preach cannot be separated from what He's doing in the preacher's life.

And I do feel led of the Lord to preach on what I'm going to preach, but I want you to know that this passage is not just something that I have exegeted or studied, and I'm going to relate it to you, but it is something that God continues to use in my life to break me into a million pieces.

And the only reason I have authority to preach this is because it's true and because God's used it as a hammer in my own life. It is not because I've succeeded in these things or am an example of these things, but these are the very things that the Lord is bringing to mind to show me that I'm not as Christlike as I would suppose.

Let's read verse 13. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how should its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

True Christianity Is Defined by Christlike Character

Now, this passage is often read about how the church and Christians ought to come out of the salt shaker and be poured out on the earth. This passage is often taught in a militant sort of way that we ought to go out there and we ought to affect our culture and we ought to change our culture.

We ought to have a purifying effect upon it, a preserving effect upon it. Our lives should be such that they add flavor to the dull fallen world around us. And all that's true, but that's not the main point of this passage.

It's talking about something much more profound. And it's this. There are certain elements or properties that make up salt. That's just all there is to it. Now, you take those properties out, you no longer have salt.

Even if you take those properties out and replace those properties with some other things that are very splendid, it still doesn't matter. Salt has certain characteristics and you take those characteristics, those properties, those elements out and you no longer have salt.

That's the point he's making here. True discipleship, true Christianity, true Christ-likeness has certain properties, certain characteristics, certain elements. You take those out and even replace them with good things, you no longer have Christianity.

You no longer have Christ-likeness, some perverted, deformed monster. But you no longer have what Christianity is really all about. Now, the question is, what are these elements? What are these characteristics?

Now, I could go all through the Bible in proof text. I could pull out verses here and there, but there's no need for that. Because in the context, he teaches us what are the basic building blocks, the basic characteristics, the defining demonstration of true discipleship, of truly following Christ, of a Christ-like character.

He says this in verse 3, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You know, I was preaching in a place one time that desperately needed a pastor. The church had been destroyed by a renegade of a man.

He had pastored them for many years, almost two decades, but he had acted like he was some sort of God or Lord over them. He had despised them. He had abused them. He had done all sorts of things. And I got up to the pulpit, I'll never forget, one Sunday morning, that Sunday morning, the first Sunday morning, and I preached.

And afterwards, after preaching, God seemed to tremendously move in the sermon and the service. Afterwards, I stepped down from the pulpit and a great group of people came forward and said, You need to be our pastor.

And I looked at them and I said, Are you out of your mind? And they said, What do you mean? I preach one sermon and you think I'm qualified to be a pastor? You see, I've heard people say, Paul Washer is a man of God.

How do you know that? I mean, how do you really know that? The devil speaks well and can wear every sort of mask you can imagine. What is the defining characteristics of a man of God or a woman of God or a child of God?

Is it their ministry? The fact that a lot of people come to hear them? Or God has used them to send out missionaries or this or that or some other thing? Is that the defining rule to tell us that they're truly Christ-like?

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Here is where we see what we are. Right here. This tells us whether we're walking with God or not, whether we're filled with the Holy Spirit or not, whether we're growing in Christ-likeness or not, maybe whether or not we're saved.

Because the old Puritans used this text as a means to grant assurance to believers or to take assurance away from false professors. You see, because the test here is this. Not all the things we know. Knowledge is very important.

I study the Word of God. It's my job to teach the Word of God. Theology is extremely important and the reason why Christianity in America is in such a state as it is is because of a lack of good theology.

But at the same time, it's not just what you know. I was teaching a group of students a while back and I said, you've already got more truth in your head than you'll ever be able to obey. And it's not just doctrine.

It's not just ethics. Pharisees have ethics. They have more rules than they've got paper to write them on. It's not just homeschooling. It's something much deeper. The true Christ-likeness that is described here.

You know, I heard a preacher years ago. He said, it was Leonard Ravenhill actually. He said, the world isn't looking for a new definition of Christianity. It's looking for a new demonstration of Christianity.

But you know, we've even messed up the idea of what that demonstration is supposed to be. Is it just supposedly powerful preaching or is it supposedly miracles or this or that or some other thing? Is it religion or is it character?

Is it Christ-likeness? Is it looking like Him, talking like Him, acting like Him, loving like Him? You want to know whether or not I'm a man of God? Look at the way I treat my wife. How loving and compassionate and kind and merciful I am.

That will tell you what I am. Not a sermon that even the devil could preach, you see. So let's look at this passage. First of all, I want you to see something. In verse 1, it says, Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

Jesus as the Greater Teacher Than Moses

Now, I don't know if you've ever been to Israel, but it's really difficult to find a mountain. Why does He say mountain? Well, it could be called a mountain. It's the infallible Word of God. But there's a much deeper reason why He uses the word mountain.

There's one other mountain, very, very important in the Bible. It's found in the Old Testament. Moses went up on it. When He came down, He came down with the law of God written with the finger of God.

And that mountain always is an expression of authority. Here is the law. Here's the big stuff, the important stuff, the stuff that's been given by God. It is not a vain thing, Moses would say. It's your life.

Well, guess what? That's why Matthew's using this terminology. Remember, Matthew was writing to the Jews who held Moses up above everything. And he's saying, well, one greater than Moses has come. And now He sits on that mountain and He opens up His mouth and He teaches His law.

And so many people think that in Christianity and in the New Covenant that the bar has supposedly been lowered. Boy, I'm glad I didn't have to live back in those Old Testament times when it was really difficult to serve the Lord.

Oh, my friend, you're so wrong. The bar was not lowered with the coming of the one greater than Moses. The bar was raised. Moses talked about tithing. Jesus talked about possibly giving everything you have away.

Moses talked about loving your neighbor, your fellow Jew. Jesus talked about loving the very ones who crucify you. It's a completely different world now. It's not external. It's not just doing the right things.

It's being the right person. It comes from within. And that's frightening, isn't it? Sometimes we think too much of men. Do you realize that? We think, boy, there are some special guys out there that have really got it on the ball.

Well, I've yet to meet one. And I've met some of the big ones. I've yet to meet one. Do you realize that you would not want your entire life exposed, even the last week of your life exposed? Every nook and cranny of it, every moment of it.

Do you realize that? You'd do anything to keep that from happening. Guess what? So would I. You see, don't call anyone Christ or Father or Great Teacher. The only thing you are are brothers. That's all you'll ever be.

And there's no great one among you except for Jesus Christ. And all's we are are brothers and sisters and Christ. And the one who is going to preach to you is just as needy, if not more. God can't work.

As long as we live in this delusion, what did you come out here to hear tonight? An expert? I want to be like Jesus. Do you? I'm not like Jesus. I want to be. Verse 2, it says, well, let's stay in verse 1 for a moment.

He went up on the mountain and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. His disciples came to Him. His disciples will always come to Him. To Him. They will not be satisfied with anyone else. They won't.

They won't. And even though He'll say things to them that they will not understand, they can't go and just walk away shaking their head because they know they've got to understand it because they know that He alone teaches the Word of Life.

Disciples will always come to Him. I know so many people in America today, it seems like they run to and fro throughout the land looking for a teacher. To and fro throughout the land lifting up men, finding something or someone.

Your only hope is to run to the Teacher, Jesus Christ. And if you're a disciple, a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you will not be satisfied with anyone but Him. No man is to stand as your priest. Not even the pastor.

You have one priest, Melchizedek, the one who has been lifted up on high, Jesus Christ, and unto Him you must run. He's the only one who can explain this passage to you. He is this passage. These are not just His words.

These are an accurate description of Him. He says in verse 2,. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, Wouldn't it have been something to have been there on that day? A wonderful privilege. A terrifying privilege.

To whom much is given, much is required. You know, there's danger in us going any farther. Do you know that preaching is an extremely dangerous thing? Did you know that? It's dangerous for me because if I'm wrong, I'm found to be a false prophet.

And on the day of judgment, I'll undergo greater condemnation. It's dangerous for you if I tell the truth because you'll be held accountable for it. You will. Now, before we go on, I want to say one other thing, and it's this.

Transformation Rather Than Religious Performance

We live in a culture of doers. And we basically judge ourselves and judge others based on how we perform. And that is why in Christianity today it's all about ministry, what you do, the size of your church, how well you perform, what you've done.

That really has very little significance in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. In the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, it is this, what you are becoming, the way your character and your life is being transformed. And when I say character, be very, very careful because this is not just about doing a character study.

This is not just about trying to add on to your life certain qualities because even that can become legalism and death. It is about drawing near to God through Christ. It is about Christ being the vine and you being the branches.

It is about not your ability through the power of your own will to live a certain way, but to be connected to the vine and the life of Jesus Christ being lived out through you. There's a big difference.

One is legalism and the other is spirituality. Over all these things is love. When I was driving here this afternoon, I had the radio on and I was listening to a lot of the hearings and things that were going on.

And there were a lot of men who I consider rather wicked, speaking wicked things. And I won't say that the Lord spoke to me because I didn't hear a voice, but just a question popped into my mind. One of the speakers who I considered most vile in politics was speaking, and a question popped in my mind.

Do you love Him? Do you love Him? Do you care for Him? Do you care for His soul? Do you think that you would be any different from Him if it hadn't been for my grace intervening? What do you have that you have not received?

And if you have received it, why do you boast? Who do you think you are apart from me? Do you love Him? You see, over all these things, love. Unconditional, self-defacing, sacrificial, washing feet of your enemy, love.

Poverty of Spirit and Dependence on Grace

Let's look at some of these characteristics. First of all, the word blessed. What does that mean? I really don't know. And I'll tell you why. It's just too big. It's just too big a word. There's so many ways of looking at it that we could literally spend the entire week just going over what does it mean to say blessed.

It's like a great big bag with everything good from God put in it and handed to you. It's a state before God, a relationship with Him. It's reconciliation. It is peace. It is approval. It is intimacy.

It's everything. Who is blessed? The one who's done a lot or the one who is like Jesus. He goes on and he says, let me stop there. Let me say something to the young men. Young men, when I became a Christian, I can't tell you how many times through the night I would pray with tears.

God, I want to be used with You. God, I want to preach Your Word. If I could go back, I would have changed all those prayers. I would change all of them. I don't care so much now about being used by Him.

I don't care that much for preaching. There's a greater thing that I missed. All the prayers I prayed about being used of God, I should have prayed, Lord, make me like Jesus. The rest of the stuff would just take care of itself.

Make me like Jesus. And after all, young man, why do you want to be used of God? What's the reason? So that you'll be something? So that you'll not have to hang your head on the day of judgment? Instead of praying, oh, Lord, use me, maybe it would be better to pray, Lord, use my brother and let me carry his bags.

Exalt my brother and make me his helper. Oh, don't esteem things that the world esteems. Esteem that which Christ tells you to esteem. It says, blessed are the poor in spirit. What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Does it mean to be sad? Well, no, not really, but it could, but not really. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It is having nothing. It is recognition that apart from His grace, apart from His unconditional love, apart from His kindness, you would be the vilest creature ever made.

And that even now, if He did not sustain you in what He has done for you, if even one fraction of a second before you entered into glory, He were to take His hand off of you, you would deny Him that you have nothing of which to boast.

Nothing except Christ and Christ alone. I used to tell young preachers, you need the power of God on your life to preach. Now I tell them, you need the power of God on your life to breathe. Did you bring yourself into existence?

Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps? No. Do you sustain your existence? Breathe in, breathe out. Who gave that to you? The things that you've accomplished, who gave you a mind and hands that work?

And the gains you've made in Christianity, what enabled you to do that if they were indeed gains? The grace of God. If you have any other boast, you're going to hell. I had a preacher call me a year and a half ago and he said, I want you to come preach in my church because I'm very afraid that many of the members are lost.

I said, what makes you suspect them? He said, they're all homeschoolers. I said, oh really? I said, I homeschool my little boy. What are you talking about? And he said something that terrified me. He said, you make anything other than Jesus Christ your banner and your boast and your pride.

You've departed from the faith. He said, I've got people in my church, if you tell them to get up and give their testimony, it will start off like this. Five years ago, I learned about homeschooling. He said, I fear for their salvation.

Is that not true? It is true. You can cross every T, dot every I, and your child will become a two-fold son of hell apart from the grace of God. Don't you realize that? Don't you realize? Nothing in our hands do we have.

But did God be merciful? One time, God moved in a place and people were coming forward. And I went down. This young boy was crying out to God. And I thought, well, I'll just go down there and pray beside Him.

And he was crying out, oh God, I just want You to give me what I deserve. I tapped him on the shoulder. I said, no, no, no. He said, what? I said, no, no. Don't you ever do because the only thing you deserve is hell.

And if He were to give you what you deserve, and He just might, if in your heart, you want Him to give everybody else what they deserve. Do you understand? Give those politicians what they deserve. Okay?

Would you like to stay in the room while I do that? Because you'll be included in the bunch. What are you? You will never be anything except a recipient of the grace of God. Add to it undeserved. An old preacher, one time I heard him say, you talk about passing through the eye of that needle.

You'll not pass through the gates of glory with one shred of self-righteousness on your back. As a matter of fact, that's what God does when He saves a man. Sometimes I have young people come to me and they'll go, you know, the Lord converted my heart.

He saved me. And I was just like walking with Him. It was just so wonderful. And I wanted to read my Bible all the time and I wanted to pray all the time and I wanted to witness all the time. And now it's just like I have struggles reading the Bible and I have struggles praying and I have struggles and I'm becoming what I hate.

I said, you're not becoming what you hate. You've always been that way. God is just showing you what you are. You see, when you're converted, He'll give you a short time there of holding your hand and helping you a great deal.

And then what He'll do is He'll begin years and years of working death in you. Boy, I'm never going to become a TV preacher with a message like that, am I? He's going to spend years and years of working death in you, of destroying every bit of self-confidence.

Every bit of confidence you have in the flesh He's going to destroy, but He will not leave you with despair because as He takes away each shred of self-confidence, He will replace it with more and more knowledge of the perfect work of Jesus Christ.

That's what God's doing in the lives of many of you. And young people, if you are in the faith, that's what God will do with you. Because He can do nothing with you until He does that to you. You start off, a young man like me, I was converted.

The next day I'm preaching. A couple of weeks, then I'm street preaching and I'm just like a flaming, breathing, walking John the Baptist. Boy, I thought that I was, boy, something. Then I began to see that I couldn't do what I was telling other people to do.

And I had no strength in myself. And He began to kill me. Why is that necessary? I had a young guy come to me a while back and he writes me this long letter. And he's a very godly young man. He's writing me this letter and he's saying, you know, I'm ignorant of the things of God.

I don't have any zeal. I'm just so ungodly and unrighteous. And so I wrote him back. I said, dear brother, you are much more ignorant and much more ungodly than you now realize. I have the gift of encouragement.

And he called me up on the phone and he goes, thanks? And I said, let me tell you something. I said, it's very possible that you are more godly than I am, but I'm happier than you are. He said, what do you mean?

I said, if you wake up in the morning and you cross every T and dot every I throughout the day and do all the things you're supposed to do, have that quiet time of yours and witness and do this and that and everything, how do you feel about yourself at the end of the day?

He said, well, I feel pretty good. And I said, well, when you get up and you don't do any of that, how do you feel? Well, my joy is all gone. I'm just shaken in my confidence. I said, young man, God's trying to save you from idolatry.

He says, what do you mean? I said, young man, your joy and confidence comes from your performance. My joy and my confidence comes from the finished work of Jesus Christ on that cross 2 ,000 years ago.

I've lost all hope in the flesh. Poor in spirit. Poor in spirit. Father, it's waking up in the morning and opening your eyes and realizing with fear, I better not move a quarter of an inch to the left or a quarter of an inch to the right without your power lest I deny thee.

I need you every hour, most gracious Lord. If I have anything that is good, it has come from You. If I am something different from the fallen worldly men around me, it is only because You separated me and put me in Your corral and You keep me there.

I can hold no disdain in my heart because if it had not been for Your grace, oh God, I'd make Hitler look like a choir boy. You see? Even when we see the world so wicked and twisted and perverted and powerful, so undeserving of love, so deserving of wickedness, you cry out for them to get what they deserve.

You laugh at their downfall. I'll never forget I was preaching at a Christian university when the whole scandal broke loose of Bill Clinton. And I'll never forget, I went into the men's restroom, had to go preach.

I went into the men's restroom and I heard some professors there talking and they said, we got him this time. There's no way he can get out of it. I mean, we got him this time. And I went to them and I said, is that even Christian?

Is that Christian? You got him this time? Should your heart not break in a million pieces and you fall on your face and cry out to God? Convert his heart, oh Lord. Have mercy upon him, oh Lord. Protect his daughter, oh Lord.

The shame she's going to have to bear. No, we got him this time. That's not the Spirit of Christ. That's the Spirit of Rome in everything. Well, I do this. That other family, they have no biblical principle.

And what makes you different from them? If in fact you are, you may be worse. God will take a bumbling parent and bless his child over a very, very knowledgeable, self-righteous one any day. He hates pride above everything.

He hates pride. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Poor in spirit. If you were to walk up to a man or a woman or a young person who truly was poor in spirit and to suggest that there was something in them noble and good apart from Jesus Christ, they would become so nauseous as to vomit.

They would cry out, flee from me. They would hide their faces. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. We need Him. We need Him. Whatever is done in our midst, whatever wickedness is around us, there is only One that makes a difference between the most vile and the most noble.

And it is Jesus Christ and His work on that tree. What should that make us? Full of appreciation. Full of gratitude. Full of joy. Full of compassion. Full of mercy. Full of grace. O God, save the Madonnas of the world.

O God, watch the news only to pray, to bless. When was the last time you blessed an enemy? When was the last time you asked God to bless someone who you know is working to bring persecution down on your head in this country?

When was the last time you mourned for families that aren't biblical instead of scoffing? You see? It's a whole other world out there. A whole other world. Jesus' love is very radical. Very radical. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven and Childlike Discipleship

What is this kingdom? Well, it's kind of the yin and the yang of Christianity. I used to say that when we studied theology there in the seminary. Why? Well, it's an unusual thing. It's kind of like a train.

You know, if you're standing there going to catch the L in Chicago or they're in London there. And the train has come. At least the engine, it's come. But it's still coming. All the cars haven't arrived.

There's a kingdom. And it is present. It's not something just future. It is present. It is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a kingdom that opposes Rome and all kingdoms like Rome. It's not a kingdom made of metal or spears or bureaucrats, thank God.

Government, in the sense as we know it. It's not something that can be brought about by human will or force or even voting. It is a kingdom that He has brought about by His own right hand. It is a kingdom where He reigns and He is Lord and those who belong to that kingdom are children.

One of the things I most... I love to work with wood and sometimes I'll go up to a lumber mill that's run by the Mennonites. And the one thing that I really appreciate about the Mennonites, one of the things of Mennonites is childlikeness.

It's to be childlike. To be simple and childlike in this kingdom of Christ. There are no great men. They're children. Now, there's something wonderful about children. I have a little boy that's four and another one that's two.

And they really don't have much concern about reputation. They haven't learned that evil yet. They don't even know what it is. They're so free. Even though they're fallen and even though they must be regenerated, they must be saved, they are so different still.

As children, they are not about all the things that seem to creep into Christianity. They're playful. They make no boast about what they make or what they can do. They just are. What is your Christianity like?

What's it like? Is it just a whole bunch of right stuff that you do? Could it be described ever as an explosion of joy? Of life? Childlikeness? I go hunting. If I don't kill something, I'm all upset. Come back home sopping wet, covered in snow and everything else.

My son, he's sitting in the blind. He's just happy to be there. He doesn't care if he sees a deer, a turkey, anything. He's just happy to be here. What does your Christianity look like? Let me ask you something about your life before your children.

Do they see a poverty of spirit in you? Do they see a brokenness? A tenderness in the sense of quickly noting sin in your own life? A dependence upon God. A dear friend of mine that's forgot more about God than I'll ever know, he's got a sermon on the violent taking the kingdom by force.

And he makes a very, very important statement in there. He goes, when I say that violent men come and take the kingdom by force, enter into it with might. Many people misunderstand thinking that here we have some of these strong-willed men who say, bless God, I'm going to enter into the kingdom.

No matter what happens, I'm going to do it. He said that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about men who are violent because they are so desperately needy. They know there's no other hope but to be in the kingdom.

Do your children see parents that have come to some solid realization that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the only hope we have or ever will have? And that although all the other things we do are good and our lifestyle can be biblical, still all of it in the end is dirt and dust.

Mourning Over Sin and Receiving Comfort

Lest God move and be gracious to us. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who mourn. Over what? Well, we've already touched on part of this.

Mourning is simply an expression of poverty of spirit in one sense. But mourn over what? Over ourselves. When was the last time you went to someone else? Well, let's make it personal first. When was the last time you wept over your sin?

When was the last time, sir, you wept over the fact you did not treat your wife with tenderness? When was the last time you wept over the fact that you were self-centered? You see what I'm saying? You see, here's what we do.

You remember, for years and years, decades and decades, they tried to break the four-minute mile. You realize that? I mean, it was just an impossibility, they said. And then what happened? One guy broke it.

And then what happened? A couple weeks later, another guy breaks it. You set something up as a standard and you never go any further. I'm afraid that one of the things that's wrong with the church today is we've set up the Ten Commandments and some external rules and say this is the standard and no one goes any further.

You say, well, I'm a righteous man. Why? Well, I don't have false gods. I keep the Sabbath. I don't take the Lord's name in vain. I don't make images. I honor my father and my mother. I don't steal. I don't commit adultery.

You see, it goes so much deeper than that. That's the bones of the thing. It's not the real thing. It goes so much deeper. Do you mourn over the fact that sometimes when a brother's approaching you in your heart, you're thinking to yourself, oh gosh, I wish they weren't here.

Does someone begin to pour out their heart to you and you think, man, I've got other things to do, this person. Are you ever rash? Are you ever hard? Self-centered. I mean, it just goes on and on and on.

There's so much to mourn over. And for men, I would probably say the greatest thing over which to mourn is treating our wives as an extension of ourselves and not as their own person who will receive a name that only they and Jesus will know.

They're their own individuals laying down our lives for them, treating them as Christ treats the church. You see, there's so much that you can do outwardly. But inwardly, it's not that good. Blessed are those who mourn.