"Jesus Wept"

"Jesus wept."

(John 11:35)

"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city,

he wept over it."

(Luke 19:41)

The Lord Jesus Christ knows what it is to hurt, to weep, to feel another's pain, to empathize with the deep anguish of those He died for and shed His blood for on the cross.  He wept at Lazarus' tomb, because He knew where He was bringing Lazarus "back from."  He wept over His beloved Jerusalem; and He wept over the multitudes of sick, diseased, and possessed people.  Does God know about your hurts; does He feel your intense pain and know what it is to cry so much that there seem to be no tears left within us?  Oh, yes; we serve a God, a Holy Creator who knows  ... "Jesus Wept." 

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who

 had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply

 moved in spirit and troubled."

(John 11:33)

How would you feel if you knew you were bringing someone back to a lost and dying earth from beauty, glory and paradise?  Jesus wept, because He knew He was bringing Lazarus back from peace, joy, love, and tranquility to chaos, hatred, sin, and imperfection  ... namely Earth.  This should tell us something about where we're going.  Huh?  THIS is not all there is!  If you are a Christian, you're justa' passin' through; our short time on earth of 70 or 80 years is really nothing compared to all of eternity in a place with golden streets, walls of jasper, gates of pearl, rivers of Life, mansions untold, Angels and incense and heavenly choirs, and last but absolutely not least  ... communion with and worship of the One who sits upon the throne, our Lord Jesus Christ.

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book."

(Psalm 56:8)

Your tears are collected and bottled up in heaven.  Isn't that  the most incredible thing you've ever heard?  Oh, how loving and caring is our God, how attuned He is to our sufferings, how close He is when we are bent over in anguish  ...  We serve a wonderful and amazing God!  I don't know about you, but I have gallons of tears bottled up; life can be treacherous, crude, and alarmingly heinous.  But, it's bearable; it's even song worthy and smiles can be seen through the tears, when you have Jesus Christ in your Boat.  He calms the terrifying storms, whispers sweet peace, scatters evil attacks and predators, holds us steady through torrential winds and rains, speaks healing to our broken bodies, walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, and that soft cotton-like feathery brush soaking up that tear upon your cheek?  It was your own Angel's wings   ...  always there, day and night.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, weeps for His world, the beloved creation He formed from the dust of the earth, the souls he died for on the cross with His own tears filled with the blood of His tortured body, the mankind He longs to be with Him in paradise and not in the burning fires of Hell and damnation.  You see, He knows what Hell is like and He knows what Heaven is like  ...  You would weep too, if you felt His burden for the lost.  He will not override someone's will; He could blink an eye and every man, woman and child in earth would fall to their knees and worship Him  ... but He doesn't; it must be our own free will to worship Him; it must be the repentance of our own hearts and the desire of our own souls to worship Him, serve Him, and receive redemption's price.  His Name, His Blood, and His Word await every one of us; His Spirit, His name in baptism to wash away our sins, and His salvation are ours for the taking  ...  but people are too busy, too involved in earth's pleasures, too caught up in Sin's gnarly grasp, too unaware of the times and seasons  ...  Jesus weeps  ...

Hezekiah

"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is

what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your

prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now

you will go up to the temple of the LORD."

(2 Kings 20:5)

King Hezekiah became seriously ill, and the Prophet Isaiah told him to prepare for death.  But, Hezekiah sought the Lord with tears, and the Lord heard his prayer.  He was granted a 15-year extension of his life and deliverance of Jerusalem from the threat of the Assyrians.  His promise was confirmed by a mighty miracle.  Prayer is our lifeline to our Creator; tears move the heart of the One who so loves His creation.  Miracles happened then; miracles happen now, because Jesus Christ lives; He died and rose again to wipe away all tears from our eyes forevermore.  There will be no tears in heaven, but in earth, we still fall on our faces, like Hezekiah, and we call out to a merciful, just, Holy, and loving God  ... And He answers  ...  He never leaves, nor forsakes us, NEVER!  He's as close as the mention of His name   ...  Jesus  ...  Call out to Him now, and He will be there.  It matters not what you've been taught, what you believe or don't believe; if you call out to Jesus Christ in sincerity and honesty, He will will meet you where you are  ...  Jesus  ...

We've all been there, done that, if we've lived long enough.  What?  We've been in the low places, the heartache and trauma, the broken spirit and bowed soul, the lowest of the lows, the place on our knees where we think we will not rise again, the ashes of terror and tragedy, the emptiness of divorce, the mourning of death, the hurt of close family heartbreaks, the loss of our assets and all we've worked for, for so long  ...  And, it culminates in tears, which are the answer from the body for the destruction of the spirit; they are the drops of a torn and ripped heart  ...  But, the Bible says our Lord will give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, "that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.  (Isaiah 61:3)  Wrap yourself in a "prayer shawl" of His love, and know, your sun will shine again; you will rise anew; and your joy will return!

The bottom line?  If all you have is Jesus Christ; He's enough!

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.)

Pastor Kenneth Phillips

(He weeps when you weep; he rejoices when

you rejoice; he loves at all times!)

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas

Services Sunday 10:30 am and Wednesday 7:15 pm

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