A Time to Mourn 

Sept 29 - Oct 9, Northfield, Massachusetts

Motivation for Mourning?

Our western culture is rather unique in the history of the world—we are unique in that we have little or no place for genuine mourning. In fact, we even shy away from mourning when someone dies. This refusal to mourn is symptomatic of a “Babylonian” culture (Rev 18:7) We ought to be alarmed that this way of thinking has infiltrated the church, however, this will change as God’s people behold the cross in a new and powerful way (Zech 12:10) and we are a sign of this cultural shift. 

Some may think: “A Time to Mourn—what is it with the mourning, what do we have to mourn about? What does mourning actually accomplish anyway?” You may be surprised to know that in God’s economy, mourning can actually accomplish a lot. Mourning is a form of humbling ourselves that places our hearts naked and needy before God, allowing Him freedom to truly be the potter of our hearts and shape us as He desires. Here is just a look at what mourning accomplishes in the Scriptures:

1. Mourning as a form of “zealous repentance”: an invitation to the lukewarm. Rev. 3:19 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.” I think that much of the church in America may be characterized as lukewarm. If you recognize this “lazy, comfortable, and powerless” tendency in yourself, God is giving an invitation—counteract your complacency with zeal—“stir yourself up to seek me with zealous repentance, open the door to me, and I will come in to you.” (Rev. 3:19-20) It is time to mourn over our complacency with Godly sorrow and open up our entire hearts and lives to Him. In order to do that, you need to get radical and be zealous—set aside 10 days and come to A Time to Mourn this fall.

2. Mourning as prayer: a call to intercede for God’s promises. Dan. 9:3 “So I gave my attention to the LORD God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Daniel reads the prophet Jeremiah and recognizes that 70 years of exile have elapsed and it is time for Israel to return to Jerusalem. Many of you share my conviction that we are in a season where God desires to fulfill many promises; we are at the cusp of a great revival! Everywhere we go, people who are listening to the Spirit are saying the same thing: “It’s time”. Let’s mourn as Daniel did, as a people who recognize what time it is in the Spirit—it is time to mourn our condition that a “spirit of grace and supplication”( Zech 12:10) might be poured out and God’s promises of glory may be fulfilled.

3. Mourning as sign: a way to make a statement to the Body of Christ and draw others into repentance. Ezra 9:4 “Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.” Ezra saw the severity of Israel’s sin and positioned himself before the temple as a sign to the rest of Israel that the nation was in immanent danger of judgment from God. This attracted the attention immediately of “everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel”. These faithful people banded together and mourned together, eventually attracting the attention of “a very large assembly”(10:1). Let’s gather together this fall as a sign—our corporate impurity, intermarriage with world and flesh, our ignorance of God’s ways, immaturity, and pride are serious. Those who tremble at the word of the Lord, it’s time for desperation on behalf of the Church.

4. Mourning as desire for the Bridegroom’s presence: a time to receive more of Jesus in our hearts. Matt. 9:15 “Can the friends of the Bridegroom mourn while the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast.” Jesus predicts that His disciples would fast after His ascension out of sadness over His absence and desire for His presence. Mike Bickle describes a bridegroom fast this way: “The purpose of this fast is to increase our spiritual capacities to freely receive or experience more of Jesus in our hearts.” This is a mourning and longing for more of Jesus that allows us to be pruned more easily (John 15), comforted, and filled—“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.” This is the kind of fasting and mourning that God is really after—the other types of mourning are only to bring people to this place—the place of growing in intimacy of relationship with Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.