1 00:00:02,047 --> 00:00:04,146 Let those who mourn 2 00:00:04,146 --> 00:00:06,190 be as though they're not mourning. 3 00:00:06,190 --> 00:00:09,552 My wife and I, our first child died 4 00:00:09,552 --> 00:00:12,726 after she was born. 5 00:00:12,726 --> 00:00:16,445 That could dominate a Christian's life 6 00:00:16,445 --> 00:00:19,449 and put you into bitterness 7 00:00:19,449 --> 00:00:22,728 and doubting God and being angry. 8 00:00:22,728 --> 00:00:25,167 The deepest sorrows in life 9 00:00:25,167 --> 00:00:28,288 can make you bitter. 10 00:00:28,288 --> 00:00:31,388 But when you have the deepest sorrows, 11 00:00:31,388 --> 00:00:33,403 you're to have a perspective 12 00:00:33,403 --> 00:00:36,567 that God reigns. 13 00:00:36,567 --> 00:00:37,942 He's over this. 14 00:00:37,942 --> 00:00:39,807 He's with me. 15 00:00:39,807 --> 00:00:42,399 This is not going to last. 16 00:00:42,399 --> 00:00:45,336 I am going to have the heart and the perspective 17 00:00:45,336 --> 00:00:47,787 that these sorrows are temporal 18 00:00:47,787 --> 00:00:49,975 and they're not going to last. 19 00:00:49,975 --> 00:00:52,162 Let those who sorrow 20 00:00:52,162 --> 00:00:54,386 ultimately see themselves 21 00:00:54,386 --> 00:00:59,849 as they're not ones that are going to be sorrowing for long. 22 00:00:59,849 --> 00:01:01,871 That's really what he means. 23 00:01:01,871 --> 00:01:03,738 And the reverse is true. 24 00:01:03,738 --> 00:01:06,319 Those who have the highest joys - 25 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:07,688 a baby's born, 26 00:01:07,688 --> 00:01:09,708 a new marriage, 27 00:01:09,708 --> 00:01:12,520 a phenomenal opportunity, 28 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,988 great experiences with the Lord, 29 00:01:14,988 --> 00:01:17,367 joy unspeakable full of glory, 30 00:01:17,367 --> 00:01:19,047 deep assurance, 31 00:01:19,047 --> 00:01:20,954 God's deeply working in your life - 32 00:01:20,954 --> 00:01:23,227 the greatest joys. 33 00:01:23,227 --> 00:01:26,107 Step back. 34 00:01:26,107 --> 00:01:29,226 Keep perspective. 35 00:01:29,226 --> 00:01:32,409 Don't depend on those joys. 36 00:01:32,409 --> 00:01:35,485 Don't think they're always going to last. 37 00:01:35,485 --> 00:01:38,439 Don't get addicted to them. 38 00:01:38,439 --> 00:01:40,514 Don't live on experience. 39 00:01:40,514 --> 00:01:44,497 Live for eternity 40 00:01:44,497 --> 00:01:48,571 as if you didn't need the joys. 41 00:01:48,571 --> 00:01:50,331 Let those who rejoice 42 00:01:50,331 --> 00:01:53,271 live as though they're not, 43 00:01:53,271 --> 00:01:55,452 as though they don't have to rejoice. 44 00:01:55,452 --> 00:01:58,082 Can you walk with God 45 00:01:58,082 --> 00:02:00,435 when you have no joy? 46 00:02:00,435 --> 00:02:03,250 The Bible's not all about joy. 47 00:02:03,250 --> 00:02:06,912 The Bible's about Jesus Christ. 48 00:02:06,912 --> 00:02:11,018 So how do you do with your eternal perspective 49 00:02:11,018 --> 00:02:14,998 about your life when you have the deepest sorrows? 50 00:02:14,998 --> 00:02:19,327 When you have the deepest joys? 51 00:02:19,327 --> 00:02:22,818 Truth unchanged, unchanging. 52 00:02:22,818 --> 00:02:24,494 You're marked by eternity, 53 00:02:24,494 --> 00:02:27,855 not by the highs and lows of the Christian life 54 00:02:27,855 --> 00:02:31,957 or the highs and lows of this earthy life. 55 00:02:31,957 --> 00:02:35,578 Change will come. 56 00:02:35,578 --> 00:02:37,847 This excerpt was taken from the full sermon: 57 00:02:37,847 --> 00:02:40,047 The Christian is Marked by Eternity, 58 00:02:40,047 --> 00:02:41,609 that Mack Tomlinson preached 59 00:02:41,609 --> 00:02:44,661 at the 2018 Fellowship Conference New England.