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Text: Psalm 51:8
Make me to hear joy and gladness;
[that] the bones [which] thou hast broken may rejoice.
INTRO: I've heard his stories about the wasted lives
behind prison bars. I admire men who minister as
prison chaplains. It's tough ministry, but it's ministry
where it's desperately needed. I read about an incident
that touched me and it continues to touch me. A
chaplain, named Bill, had been visiting this cell block,
and he went out in the exercise yard for some fresh air,
he said. There was this clean cut, young inmate who
happened to be African-American, who walked up to
him, and he said, "Hey mister! Are you broke?" Well,
Bill kinda fished around in his pocket and didn't find
any money in there, and the inmate said, "Hey, it
doesn't matter, your money is no good in here anyway.
Now, are you broke?" Only this time the inmate had
tears in his eyes. And then here's what he said:
"Mister, don't try to minister to people in here if you
ain't broke, cause we all are."
It's not just inside prison walls; you don't have to go
into a prison to find people who are, "broke."
TRANSITIONAL-STATEMENT:
I want to talk about the healing of God, as well as the
benefits of being Broken!?
1. ALL-TOO-COMMON
There's so much pain today, and so much of
it is from broken things - broken family, broken health,
broken heart, broken dream, broken relationships,
broken trust - you may be "broke." Perhaps, even in
spite of a life that's reasonably successful and an
outward image that looks fine. You may be one of the
millions of the walking wounded ... not sure where to
put your pain ... where to put your brokenness.
God's Word mentions this in Hebrews 4:14,
"Since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the Heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
firmly to the faith we profess." Now, here
Jesus is called "high priest" and you know those were
the men in the Old Testament who represented people
to God. So Jesus is now our personal representative
with God in Heaven. Now, if that inmate, or even
you, were to walk up to this Savior and ask, "Are you
broke?" He might refer you to the next verse, Turn:
Heb 4:15 "We do not have a high priest who is unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one
who has been tempted in every way, just as we are,
yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne
of Grace with confidence." Now, He's walked in our
shoes, He's felt what we feel - but He never responded
by doing something outside of God's will. Ne never
turned to addiction, easy ways out or denial. And we
can come to Him with confidence! Why? Well, we're
coming to a Savior who has lived the feelings we are
bringing to Him.Billy Graham did not tell those he
spoke to about the World Trade Center attack, that
God would make all better now, nor that He didn't
care. He told them that one Day He will right all
wrongs, and that He has suffered, and understands
NOW, because of the Cross! Christ knows what it is to
be poor ... He knows what it feels like to be turned
down by your family ... to be betrayed by someone
very close - He was. To be rejected - He was. To be
pressured to do the wrong thing - He was. To be
tortured ... to be lonely ... to be murdered - He was all
of those. This Savior knows the pain! He knows what it
is to be Broke! There are other people who can
empathize. There are some counselors who can help
you understand the pain. There have been times where
people have come and sat in my office, Who've walked
by my house, who've walked into this church - broken
- and how I wished I could share the pain, to help; but
only Jesus can carry your pain and begin to heal a
lifetime of scars. He says inTurn: Lu 4:18 The Spirit of
the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book,
and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down.
And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto
them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
But the great tragedy is this: You're needlessly
carrying all your hurt. Many outside these walls carry
it alone because Jesus isn't their Savior because they've
never given themselves to Him. He went way beyond
the pain to the core reason for our wounds - human
sin. It sad when unbelievers walk with this pain, but it
is just as sad when God's children do. Eph 2:13 But
now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our
peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition [between us];
Jesus broke down the seperation from God and His
healing, yet so many of us walk in our anger, or
bitterness, or pride, or ego, or denial (you choose
yours) and refuse to walk into His throne room in
absolute honesty. The funny thing is, the best way to
be healed is to be broken God's way!!!??
Ps 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the
bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. We see too
much pain, what are you doing in Jesus name?
2. GOD'S-SOFT-SPOT.
Ps 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I
give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The
sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
God will not despise. In other words, God will
ALWAYS move on behalf of! I call this God's Soft Spot.
When God breaks us it brings about a new and better
Design, more like Him! He's the ultimate
Vinedresser/Potter! Mt 5:3 ¶ Blessed [are] the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There are 3
ways to become poor in spirit- or humbled. 1) Life
kicks you around. 2) God cracks you down. 3) BEST:
You humble yourself! So when you humble yourself
before God or are humbled by Him or life and decide
to be a servant, the results the same: God's Blessing is
unstoppable and His healing uninhibited!
Turn: Lu 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him,
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken
nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the
net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a
great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. Peter
caught nothing but when he obeyed Christ, he caught
much! Please remember this. Without Christ,
whatever you aquire will be nothing. With Him all
you catch is worthwhile . . Forever! Yet I find it odd
that Christ could catch so much for Peter yet didn't
stop the net from breaking, and losing some!!?? . . .
.We're gonna come back to this story later!
God can ONLY successfully use the broken!
The kingdom belongs to the broken! Jesus is our
example. No one has truly become a disciple/Christian
until they have been broken.Mt 21:44 And whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Jesus referring to Himself as the Stone, says if we find
Him, we will be broken, as in a good thing! Those that
don't, He will find them and . . ouch! The benefits of
being broken to God are many! BENEFITS:
a) Access to Christ: Mr 2:4 And when they could not
come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the
roof where he was: and when they had broken [it] up,
they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of
the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
b) Effectiveness Increased: Mt 15:36 And he took the
seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and
brake [them], and gave to his disciples, and the
disciples to the multitude.
c) True Fellowship & Strength: Joh 19:36 For these
things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled,
A bone of him shall not be broken.
d) Freedom: Le 26:13 I [am] the LORD your God,
which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that
ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the
bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
e) Victory: 1Sa 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall
be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder
upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth;
and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the
horn of his anointed.
When we are broken on the Rock - Jesus, He falls onto
our enemies, which are His now also!
f) Produce: Job 16:12 I was at ease, but he hath broken
me asunder: he hath also taken [me] by my neck, and
shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
Comfort & apathy are not your friend! Embrace and
enjoy the struggle! God will keep you on the straight
and narrow road, so long as you stay humble.
g) Help: Ps 34:17 [The righteous] cry, and the LORD
heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD [is] close to them that are of a broken
heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19
Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the
LORD delivereth him out of them ALL. !
Ps 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the
bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Explain Text: Odd verse? Means that when we live in
humility, we live in joy. And each trial turns to gold
and rejoicing! AMEN!
3.ALL-BROKEN-UP
Luke 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go
through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God. Jesus didn't say this because
of the money! The principle goes beyond that; the
money represents anything that hides us in denial
from brokeness. What securities do you have that
keep you from being all broken up? Comfort?
Lazyness? Busyness? Pride? Fear? The list goes on. All
these words can replace "rich man" in this verse! Make
life easier on yourself and those around and get all
broken up!
Joh 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to
land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three:
and for all there were so many, yet was not the net
broken. Sound familiar? Peter had this happen in Lu
5:5, when He 1st met Jesus! There He obeyed and was
given a great catch of blessing. Before He obeyed Jesus
He caught nothing! This goes for us too! But theres
something different here!? This time, the net didn't
Break! This time the catch was greater and Peter was
more productive. Why? Because between meeting
Christ and now knowing Christ, Peter was Broken!!
And His results were not!! Without Christ = Nothing.
Obeying Christ = Eternal Life. Brokeness = Abundant
Life!!!! Brokeness make us the best receptors, then we
don't fight the message or get stubborn with our faith
and doubt. Brokenness makes us plyable in our God's
hands!! We're all the victims of people's sins and we're
sinners ourselves. Sin is our personal rebellion against
our Creator, saying, "God, you run the Universe, I'll
run me." Because we're away from the 0ne we were
made by, we keep making choices that increase our
pain. But Jesus is saying to you today, "Why are you
carrying that all alone? I died for you. Won't you let
me truly be your Savior? Let me pick up your pain.
Let me begin to apply my love to your wounds." If
you've never done that, why would you walk alone
one more day? If the question is, like that inmate, like
Peter, "Jesus, I'm 'broke.' Only someone who's 'broke'
can help me," then you come to the mangled body on
the blood-stained cross and see that the Son of God
was "broke" so you don't have to be living in bondage
or pain! Ps 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Will you be broke? Will you humble yourself and let
all be as nothing in comparison to God? Will you settle
for only His best?
FINISH:Ps 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and
bindeth up their wounds. 4 He telleth the number of the
stars; he calleth them all by [their] names. 5 Great [is]
our Lord, and of great power: his understanding [is]
infinite. 6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the
wicked down to the ground. 7 Sing unto the LORD
with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God
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