Brokenness

[0:00] Psalm 51, verse 1.

[0:30] Psalm 51, verse 1.

[1:00] Psalm 51, verse 1.

[1:30] Psalm 51, verse 1.

[2:00] Psalm 51, verse 1.

[2:29] The Lord blesses broken things.

[2:41] People are broken today. We've heard in prayers of people broken by circumstance, by life's concerns, broken lives. I've seen many of them in my travels.

[2:53] As a preacher, I get to see people at their worst. I've seen houses broken, broken windows in vandalised places.

[3:05] I've seen broken relationships. I've seen broken dreams. I've seen so many broken lives. Broken lives. Broken people. People going through heartbreak.

[3:17] People going through tough things. Shattered to pieces, some of them. Broken things. Broken hearts. Broken people. Yet they are not beyond repair.

[3:27] They are not beyond repair. The journey of grief can become a journey of grace and glory. Brokenness. Brokenness. Brokenness.

[3:38] Brokenness. Brokenness. It can strike any of us. We're out of the blue. Without us expecting it. We can be broken. Broken up. Broken up by grief. By tragedy.

[3:49] By sickness. By bereavement. By hurt and disappointment. Friends, life is filled with brokenness sometimes. Broken things. Broken times.

[4:00] Yet brokenness need not leave us in despair. It can be God's hand. Working still. Doing something. Despite that time of brokenness.

[4:12] And we can all look back to those times. You can look back to times in your life. I know. Broken times. Brokenness. Look back through the pages of scripture.

[4:25] At some of the people God used most mightily. They stand out from scripture as the people that God got a hold of. Some of God's broken people.

[4:37] God's broken people. People like Jacob. Jacob. His strength was broken at Peniel. His strength was broken. God had to take him to that place where he fought with an angel.

[4:51] God took him to that place of brokenness. And wounded him there. In that wrestling match with the angel. And for the rest of his life he would walk with a limb.

[5:06] Demonstrating his dependence upon the Lord. After that brokenness. Jacob was renamed Israel. And God clothed him with special spiritual power.

[5:17] God blessed Jacob after that time of brokenness. He said your name is no longer Jacob. It's Israel. Because you were struggled with God. And men have overcome.

[5:29] And Jacob's limb became a reminder to him. Through his life of God's working. Through struggles. Through blessings. And giving him strength to overcome.

[5:40] That could be true for you. That could be true for you. Maybe you've wrestled with God. And there's something still. God. To remind you. Of that struggle.

[5:52] And yet of that strength. That strength to overcome. You can know that strength today. Joseph was another. Who God took through that place of brokenness. Joseph.

[6:03] He was broken by his own brothers. He was thrown into a pit. Discarded. Sold into slavery. Falsely imprisoned. He went from the pit.

[6:14] To the prison. And ultimately to the palace. He was brought low. And yet God raised him up. To be a ruler. Ultimately of Egypt.

[6:28] Brokenness. Times of brokenness. God. Takes us through those times. Through that breaking process. So that we can learn to trust him.

[6:39] To learn to trust his purpose. And there's nothing that comes to us. That it's not first through him. And from him. Allowed by him. By his will. As much as times may be.

[6:51] That we don't understand those things. Yet he assigns those things. For his great purpose. That calamity can be. Something that he has a purpose for.

[7:04] Joseph came to that conclusion. In Genesis 50. Verses 19 and 20. Joseph said unto them. Fear not. For I am I in the place of God.

[7:15] But as for you. He's speaking to his brothers. You thought it evil against me. But God meant it for good. To bring to pass. As it is this day.

[7:26] To save much people alive. Joseph was placed in God's providence. In that special place. But it was through those times. Of the pit.

[7:37] And the prison. That he came to the palace. Job is another one. Broken. Job was broken by tragedy. He lost everything that he had. His family. His fortune.

[7:48] And it seemed his future. And yet then God poured out. His blessings on his life. And we read. At the close of Job. 42 verse 10. The Lord gave Job.

[7:59] Twice as much. As he had before. God was working through Job's suffering. Even through that time. Of horror. Of Job's life.

[8:10] But Job endured that brokenness. And was restored. Moses in another case. Moses was broken through various trials.

[8:21] He lost his position. His possessions. His popularity. He was mocked. And unliked. And murmured against. Yet God made of him.

[8:32] A great deliverer. Samson. Another case. A broken man. Samson. One strong. Made blind. Made weak. Made a captain. Made an object of ridicule.

[8:44] He was a laughing stock. Yet God used Samson to crush the Philistines. He took him through. That time of brokenness. And did something mighty.

[8:56] In him. And then we come to David. Because Psalm 51. It's written. On the occasion. That he was confronted. For his sin. By Nathan the prophet. After he had gone in.

[9:07] To Bathsheba. And Psalm 51. It shows the brokenness of the man. David. It shows the brokenness of this man. Renounced by his family. Ridiculed by his foes.

[9:19] Rejected by his friends. It would have been front page news. What a scandal. What a shocking. Horrific thing. That this man David did. And we see in Psalm 51.

[9:31] His great sorrow. Over his horrible sin. And God brought David through that time. Of brokenness. Through that time. Of great. Disgrace.

[9:43] To raise him to be the nation's king. As John Bunyan puts it. Of this verse. A spirit rightly broken. A heart truly contrite.

[9:54] Is to God. An excellent thing. A heart truly contrite. A spirit rightly broken. Is to God. An excellent thing. God.

[10:04] Got a hold of David. As he cried out. The sacrifices of God. Are a broken spirit. A broken. And a contrite heart. O God. Thou will not despise.

[10:17] Peter. Was broken. Peter was broken. After he denied the saviour. Three times. He went out. And he wept bitterly.

[10:28] Bitter tears. Came out of his brokenness. He was broken. And yet we see. How he was made strong. God. Got a hold of Peter. And he preached. And some 3,000 souls.

[10:39] Were brought. Into the kingdom of God. God's broken people. Broken people. Maybe you're feeling broken. Maybe you're feeling broken. For whatever reason today. God's doing something in you.

[10:50] God's doing something. In your life. God's heroes. Have often travelled. Through those times of trouble. To come. To that place of triumph. As Daniel did. As Daniel.

[11:02] Faithfully prayed. And he was. Cast into the. Lion's den. To spend a night there. After that time of.

[11:13] Testing. God mightily. Used Daniel. Paul. Brought the gospel. To the Gentiles. First he had to be blinded. On the Damascus road.

[11:23] What a. What a difficult thing. That would be. To be blinded. God had to get hold of him. Through that time. Of brokenness. Brokenness. Can bring.

[11:33] Blessing. Brokenness. Can bring blessing. To your life. And mine. Even. In times. That are tragic. And. Difficult. I know.

[11:46] In. In some small measure. We had some. Brokenness. In. In our. A home being flooded. And. And of the. The devastation.

[11:57] That caused. More. More. In. In our minds. Than anything else. And. And. The despair. Of such a thing. Happening. If you've ever had such a thing happen.

[12:09] To you. That. Brokenness. Can bring blessing. It helps you to be stronger. It helps you to. Get a hold of what really matters. Of what really counts. Of what's really important. And God uses those times of brokenness.

[12:21] That helps us. To be stronger. When Gideon's army of 300 men. Came. To the Midianite camp. And they had these clay jars. In which.

[12:32] Were these hidden lights. And. As they broke those. Vessels of clay. As they broke. Those containers. Those pictures. The light shined out.

[12:44] And brought confusion. To the enemy's camp. From Judges 7. From verse 19. It says. So Gideon. And the hundred men. That were with him. Came unto the outside of the camp.

[12:55] In the beginning of the middle watch. It was the changing of the guard. It was the midnight. Hour. And they had just. Nearly set the watch. And it says. In verse. 19.

[13:05] Of Judges 7. They blew the trumpets. The. The horn was blown. The. The shofar. Was blown. And they broke the pictures.

[13:16] They broke these vessels. Of clay. That were in their hands. And the three companies. Blew the trumpets. And broke the pictures. That held the lamps. And the. The trumpets.

[13:27] In. In one hand. The lamps. In the other. And they cried. The sword of the Lord. And of Gideon. And verse 21. They stood every man. In his place. Round about the camp.

[13:37] And all the hosts ran. And cried. And fled. And the three hundred. Blew the trumpets. And the Lord. Set every man's sword. Against his fellow. Even throughout.

[13:48] All the host. The vessels. Had to be broken. The vessels. Had to be broken. So the light. Could shine. So the torches.

[13:58] Could be seen. The vessels. Had to be broken. And the light. Exploded. Into the darkness. And God. Brought great victory. It's like that. With you and me. We have this treasure.

[14:09] In earthen vessels. Every one of us. Are. Vessels. Earthen vessels. And God wants us. To shine as lights. In this. Darkened world.

[14:20] In this. Crooked and perverse nation. Philippians 2. Verse 15. That we might shine. As lights. In the world. But first. We must be broken. Brother. You must first be broken.

[14:31] Sister. You must first be broken. That the light. Can shine out. From your light. It's sometimes. That God uses. Those times. Of brokenness. That reveals. To us.

[14:42] What we must. Let go of. Those things. That are hindering. Our walk with God. Those things. That are the obstacles. In our lives. Those things. That are holding us back. From doing.

[14:52] His will. What is hindering you today? What is hindering you? Is it pride? Is it pride today? That must be broken. Is it some bitterness?

[15:03] Some resentment you're holding on to? Something that's holding you back? Is it selfishness? Is it stubbornness? Is it your own vain glory? Do we have proud hearts?

[15:15] They must be broken. They must be brought low. Is there a hardness of heart? It must be broken. Is not my word like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

[15:26] It must be broken. We've got to listen to God and hear his voice. Not shy away from his hand. Do we have proud hearts? Is the self-will rising up within us?

[15:38] Have I truly humbled myself to his will? Am I in submission to his will? Or is my life full of pride and self-importance? Will you be like a broken vessel?

[15:50] Will you be like a vessel in the hand of the soldiers of Gideon? A vessel that God can use to be broken and shine forth his glory. Brokenness can bring a blessing.

[16:03] Let your light shine. As Luke 11.33 says, the Lord says that you don't light a candle and put it in a secret place, neither under a bushel but on a candlestick, that they which may come may see the light.

[16:18] Don't hide your light. Let it shine. Let it show. As a Christian in your workplace, in the life that you live, amongst the circle of friends and family and acquaintances, let it show.

[16:31] Let it shine. Let it shine even if they mock and scorn you. Don't hide your light. Become broken. Become broken. Become broken.

[16:41] Allow God to break your vessel and shine through you. Brokenness can bring a blessing. A preacher said that God uses broken things.

[16:53] He said it takes broken soil to produce a crop. What does the word say? Break up your fallow ground. Break up your fallow ground.

[17:07] The farmer has to break that ground and let the moisture penetrate to the seed that is sown. God wants to break up our fallow ground.

[17:19] It takes broken soil to produce a crop. It takes broken clouds to produce rain. It takes broken grain to give bread. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume.

[17:36] It is the broken Peter weeping bitterly who returns to greater power than ever. Brokenness. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

[17:49] Don't think if you ever come to a place of brokenness that God has left you. Don't ever come to that place where you're feeling broken that somehow you've missed God's best for you.

[18:00] You could be right in it. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. Don't shy away from his hand. Receive it from his hand. Brokenness will bring blessing if you'll but trust him.

[18:15] As the poor widow of 2 Kings 4 broke the seal of the little pot of oil and she poured it forth. It seemed like it was her last meal. Yet she trusted God and she broke that pot of oil and poured it forth.

[18:29] And God supplied her need. He became her true source. He paid all her debts. He became her supply, her means of support.

[18:41] As she broke that pot of oil. When the Lord Jesus took the five loaves and broke them. The bread was multiplied and it was sufficient to feed 5,000 men.

[18:53] When the Lord Jesus himself was broken. Broken. As his body was broken. We know his bones were not broken. Yet there was a brokenness to him.

[19:05] A brokenness. As his flesh was broken by the thorns and the nails and the spear. Broken for you. Broken for us. His saving grace was poured forth from his brokenness.

[19:18] And he said that as a grain of corn is broken and dies. It brings forth life. The grain has to be broken. It has to be threshed and broken. And made into bread.

[19:31] So that it brings. And the grain of corn. As it grows. It bears more and more. Hundreds of other grains. Brokenness can bring blessing.

[19:42] Yet God bypasses the prideful. He bypasses the prideful. Do not be proud. Do not be proud. God bypasses the prideful.

[19:54] He wants us to be low before him. So he can lift us up. Friends. Let's be made low before him. Someone said. Before God can use a man greatly. He must wound him deeply.

[20:06] It's hard to take being wounded. Isn't it? I've been wounded. You've been wounded. We've been wounded. God can use us. Through that time.

[20:18] It's another quote. Before you can bless. You must bleed. Before you can help. You must first hurt. Now who are the. Amongst the most wise counsellors.

[20:29] That we can turn to. The ones who've been through the mill. Aren't they? The ones who've been through it. They're the ones who can most help you. Because they've been there. They've seen something of life's tests.

[20:43] And so. As it says that. We can comfort others with the comfort that he has given to us. Psalm 34 verse 18. It says. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.

[20:58] And saveth such as being of a contrite spirit. That's good to know isn't it? The Lord is near. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.

[21:10] God is near to you. In that brokenness. He is near to you. As have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We've seen some of God's broken people.

[21:21] The pages of scripture are filled with them. It tells us what's in all. It tells us of David's shocking sin. Yet God used this broken man still.

[21:32] Despite all his inadequacies. Despite all the shamefulness of his act. Of his acts. Not only was he unfaithful in taking Bathsheba.

[21:48] But in effectively murdering her husband. God is near. To them that are of a broken heart.

[22:00] Brokenness can bring blessing. His healing grace comes. So the hearts that are grieving. Over sin. So just. Quickly my points.

[22:10] Thus far. We've seen God's broken people. You're not alone. The heroes of the faith were broken. Before God used them. Secondly.

[22:21] We see brokenness can bring a blessing. And thirdly. Don't resist the potter. Do not resist the potter.

[22:33] Sometimes when brokenness happens. We resist the potter. We don't understand. We cry out against him. We say it's not fair. When our life is a mess.

[22:45] He's breaking us so that he can remake us. He breaks us so that he can remake us. In Jeremiah 18 verse 4. We see the potter.

[22:56] The potter. It says the vessel that he made of clay. Was marred in the hand of the potter. He just chucked it back on the wheel. And he wrenched it. And squenched it. And squelched it.

[23:08] And destroyed it. So that he made it again. Another vessel. As seemed good to the potter. To make it. You know you might think.

[23:18] Everything's going fine. You're a nice looking vessel. And he throws you back on the potter's wheel. He throws you back. And he shapes you with his hands. And he presses you.

[23:29] And pushes you. And. You could struggle against that. Don't resist the potter. Don't resist the potter.

[23:40] As Oswald Chambers says. When God gets us alone through suffering. Heartbreak. Temptation. Disappointment. Sickness. Or by thwarted desires.

[23:51] A broken friendship. Or a new friendship. When he gets us absolutely alone. And we are totally speechless. Unable to ask even one question.

[24:01] Then. He begins. To teach us. Then. He begins. To teach us. Think of. What it would have been like. The day that.

[24:13] Mary came. Into the presence. Of our Lord. At Bethany. In John 12. In John 12. Mary. Came into the room.

[24:26] There might have been a hubbub of noise. Of. A smell of. Food. Cooking. And. People eating. And laughing. And enjoying the presence of the Lord Jesus.

[24:38] And then Mary comes on the scene. And it says. In. Mark 14. Verse 3. That she broke something. In John 12.

[24:49] The similar account. It says. That they made him supper. That they were making supper for the Lord Jesus. And Martha served. Lazarus was one of them. That sat at the table. With him.

[25:00] Verse 3. Then Mary took. A pound of ointment. Of spikenard. Very costly. And anointed the feet of Jesus. And wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled.

[25:11] With the odour. Of the ointment. And. In Mark 14. 3. It says. She broke. The vessel. And poured it out. What would it have been like.

[25:25] As she. As she took that bottle. And broke it. So it could not be used again. Certainly broke the seal of it. And it was a very precious.

[25:35] White man. It. Was. Some would calculate. That it was worth a year's wages. It was something very. Important. It was something very.

[25:46] Costly. Something. That would be treasured. It was her treasure. And she poured it out. And there was a fragrance. A fragrance that filled the room. The odour.

[25:57] The smell. Of that perfume. Just pervaded the whole place. That they were in. The house was filled. With the fragrance. The fragrance of worship.

[26:10] The fragrance of worship. As she was poured out. The brokenness. Created a fragrance. Of worship. God uses broken things.

[26:22] And. It says in Psalm. 147. 3. It says. He healeth. The broken. In heart. And bindeth. Up. Their wounds. Today.

[26:33] Or down the track. We can't expect. Some brokenness. To come. Across our pathway. We can't expect that. We can't.

[26:45] Know that. That. Will. Most surely happen. Some tragedy. Some pain. Some. Hardness.

[26:56] Some. Difficulty. May strike us. And we might come to that place of brokenness again. He healeth the broken in heart. And bindeth up their wounds.

[27:09] You can know the healer of broken hearts today. You can know his healing. You can know his touch. You can know the binding up of your wounds. Because God is able to mend broken hearts.

[27:20] Broken homes. Broken hopes. Broken health. Broken happiness. God is in the business of healing that which is broken. He specialises in healing broken things.

[27:32] And no matter what. He can heal the broken in heart. You know sometimes we think of the word broken in a negative way. But sometimes a break can be a positive thing.

[27:46] For example when someone has something good happening. People say they're getting their big break. Now sometimes a break can be a good thing for us.

[27:57] It's good to break with some things. If they're not good for us. It's good to break with addictions. It's good to make a break with that which holds us captive.

[28:08] And enslaved. It's good to make a break with that which is sin. It could be that there's time to make a break with certain relationships that are not good for us.

[28:23] Sometimes good to have a break. In that sense. But the text here says that the spirit can be broken.

[28:37] The heart can be broken. David says the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart.

[28:47] O God thou wilt not despise. We've seen that some of the greatest people in the Bible were broken people.

[28:58] But God used them. Maybe you've had those times of being wounded. Of being hurt. It could be that God is doing something to restore you.

[29:13] To a greater strength. To a greater faith. Just as Job was restored. And God multiplied that which he had.

[29:25] That which he had lost. If you're broken today. It may be that God is going to use you. He's going to use you. Just as those vessels of Gideon's army were broken.

[29:41] Then the light could shine. Don't shy away from the potter's hand. Learn to seek his face. Let it draw you closer.

[29:52] Let it draw you closer. Not further away from him. Let it draw you closer to the potter's hand. So that he can shape you and make you what he really wants you to be. To make you his perfect design.

[30:03] To find his best for you. The best place that you can be is in the potter's hand. Even when he is reforming you for his glory.

[30:16] And it is good to be broken over our sins. I've been speaking really to encourage Christians this morning. But friends, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

[30:30] A broken and a contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. Maybe you're still in sin. You're still, as David was, astray from God.

[30:42] The prophet had to confront him with his sin. And rebuke him with it. And call it what it was. David was broken up over his sin.

[30:55] It was a good thing. Because he came to the end of himself. And he trusted God's precious will. God's purpose was that he trust him.

[31:08] And friends today, if you're not saved today. If you do not know the Saviour. If you're not entirely sure that you know him. Then come unto him.

[31:22] Come unto him. He says come. He says come unto him. Let us pray. Let us pray.

[31:37]