He healeth the broken in heart

[0:00] Psalm 147 verse 3 He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds.

[0:17] ! He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds.! Broken lives, broken people, broken hearts, broken beyond repair it seems, broken, brokenness.

[0:39] It's all around us isn't it? And for such Jesus came. In Luke 4, you might like to turn there. When Jesus came, his message was to the broken.

[0:53] Luke 4 from verse 17. As he gave his mission. Luke 4 verse 17.

[1:03] As he stood in the synagogue that was delivered to him the book of Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. This is Luke 4 verse 18.

[1:15] Luke 5 verse 18.

[1:45] Luke 5 verse 18. and he gave it to the minister and sat down and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him and he began to say unto them this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears what did they do?

[2:09] was there a big altar call and multitudes flocked forward to be saved? was there a receptivity as people bowed down and wept and received this message?

[2:20] no, they were filled with wrath all that heard him were filled with wrath, with anger and they went to throw him off a cliff they rejected this one this one with redeeming love this one who brings healing to the broken in heart this one who offers deliverance and freedom and liberty who sets the captives free this one, they spurned him he says, he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted he sees your wounded heart he sees your inner hurts the things others have never seen things you've never said and he extends God's mending God's peace, God's comfort to you he speaks healing to the broken in heart he sends his word and he heals Psalm 107 20 it says he sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions he speaks healing still these are words of healing words of deliverance if you will but receive them today and he is an advocate for us he pleads our cause our case it's got the sense of one who comes alongside to help in 1 John 2 verse 1 my little children these things write I unto you that you sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father

[4:07] Jesus Christ the righteous now I've been to court I've been before a judge in a sombre place and the judge said guilty I was in the jury I wasn't in the dock but if you're in a court you want to have a good lawyer you want to have a good counsel a good advocate and friends when we stand before the God's judgement bar when we stand in that sombre place of judgement we need one to stand for us and Jesus Christ is that one he can come as your advocate as that one who stands alongside many are in sin and disrepair today he comes alongside the bruised he comes alongside the broken he comes alongside the oppressed the taunt the wounded some wounds are more hidden than others the some who are carrying wounds still many hurts from long ago some of you have shared them with me some you haven't told me but brothers and sisters

[5:19] God knows those wounds those wounds wounds inflicted by some calling themselves Christians sad sad it is to say but there is inner healing inner healing for those who are bruised today for those who are hurting for those who are wounded there is hope today hope today for you for me in his healing touch he can soothe and mend what man has broken and torn God's comforting presence is here for you for us today his tender compassions are present tense in Lamentations 3.22 it says it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not his compassions fail not they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness the Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore will I hope in him his compassions fail not man will fail you your flesh will fail you but God cannot fail you his compassions fail not and the Lord helps the hurting he helps them still in him there is hope the Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore will I hope in him he will not let you down he will stand by you and he reaches still his compassions fail not he reaches the very heart your very heart and mine the very innermost being of us in all the foulness that is in our heart sometimes he comes and he brings cleansing because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked who can know it you know

[7:09] I've said this before don't follow your heart it's not it's not the way to be led but follow the Lord and let he be your desire your delight and then the desires of your heart will be right friends there is hope his compassions fail not when the Lord Jesus stepped onto the scene in Luke chapter 7 we see the Lord Jesus have an encounter as many encounters show the same sentiment in Luke 7 verse 11 he was a broken hearted widow the widow woman of name and he had compassion upon her in Luke 7 11 it says it came to pass the day after that he went into a city called Nain and many of his disciples came with him and much people and now when he came nigh to the gate of the city behold there was a dead man carried out the only son of his mother and she was a widow and much of the people of the city was with her and when the

[8:17] Lord saw her he had compassion on her and said unto her weep not and he came and touched the bed that he laid on and they that bare him stood still and he said young man I say unto thee arise and he that was dead sat up and began to speak and he delivered him unto his mother and they came in fear on all and they glorified God saying that a great prophet is risen up among us and that God hath visited his people God still visits people today God still visits people today he still visits human hearts today and he saw the woman and had compassion on her he saw her grief his heart went out to her and it reaches out he reaches out still we all had times of grief grieving we likely to have a bereavement in our family quite soon now a little doggy is on his last legs and it's a tender time and it's a sad time as much as it's just a dog it's a companion of long years and you feel that hurt even just losing a pet it's a tragic time isn't it and

[9:47] Jesus sees our grief he sees our hurting he sees our pain and his heart went out to her and he reaches out still to you to me in those tender moments in those sad times of life in those tragedies that before us all in Matthew 14 verse 14 it says and Jesus went forth and he saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion toward them and he healed their sick he saw the multitude he was moved again moved with compassion towards them in Matthew 9 we see he sees the people as shepherdless sheep and he is moved again Matthew 9 36 but when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd he sees the helpless he sees the hurting still he sees those without a shepherd he sees them and he wants to be their shepherd and he extends tenderness and understanding in Matthew 20 we see another account from verse 29

[10:56] Matthew 20 verse 29! Jesus is passing by and some called upon him as they departed from Jericho a great multitude followed him and behold two blind men sitting by the wayside when they heard that Jesus passed by cried out saying have mercy on us!

[11:19] O Lord thou son of David and the multitude rebuked them because they should hold their peace because they cried to them all saying have mercy on the Lord thou son of David and Jesus stood still and called them and said what will ye that I shall do unto you and they say unto him Lord that our eyes may be opened and Jesus responds he looks on them with mercy Jesus steps in and touches them Jesus is passing by Jesus is passing by call on him for mercy today he looks on us still with mercy and Matthew 20 34 it says so Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight and they followed him he touches the wounded he touches the injured he touches us and makes us whole if we will but stop and call on him have mercy on us oh Lord he healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds it's got the sense of bandaging of applying bandages the broken in heart how can brokenness happen brokenness it can happen in life circumstances through tragedy and hardship hard times you've had them you've been there maybe you're right there now hard times times of being broken it may be a burden of rejection someone's hurt you deeply of unfaithfulness of relationship breakup of the burden of bitterness the burden of unforgiveness still that you harbour perhaps it can be when tragedy strikes bereavement grief sadness unexpected losses so many heartaches people carry them and are weighed down by them such is the lot of man it seems in this fallen world marred by man's sin an army chaplain had an office on its door he had a sign that said if you have troubles come in and tell me all about them if you don't have troubles come in and tell me how you do it we've all got troubles we've all got crosses to bear some more than others

[14:10] I know I could complain to you this morning of some pain that I've been going through physical pain and sometimes it wears you down when you have such times such moments such seasons you can get weighed down it can be a heavy load but when burdens weigh you down I have a word from the Lord for you this is a word from the Lord for you and it's guaranteed it's not out of my mind but it's out of his lips cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved now that's personal isn't it thy burden he shall sustain thee that's you you can write your name there he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved you know in this world there's so many places we can search for help and go to counsel the solution for your troubles is not a program it's a person a person it's not some program it's not some invention some scheme of man to solve your problem today as much as there may be some help there but really and truly it's a person it's a person that we need cast thy burden upon the

[15:48] Lord and he shall sustain thee he is the one who makes a difference in a dying world this God who is full of compassion and heartfelt care and by his grace he extends his loving kindness still he cares for the oppressed!

[16:16] and as this man receiveth sinners you know they thought this man receives sinners he actually mixes with them and he actually sits down and drinks and eats with them this man receiveth sinners he was criticized for them thank God he does thank God he does he does still he does still receive sinners thank God for that people this morning he turns no one away who comes unto him and receives sinners still this man receives sinners he knows your pain he knows what pain feels like and here is for we see seeing then we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast the profession our profession for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need we have a high priest and this high priest is not one who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but he is touched he is touched and this word touched it literally means to feel with he he feels with the feelings that we have he enters into our pain and brothers sisters sometimes those places of pain can be the closest and his comfort can be the surest in

[18:18] Isaiah 53 we read he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hear as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he had borne our grief and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed despised rejected we hear us where our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not he was wounded for our transgressions friends he's borne your griefs he's carried your sorrows he knows every tear you wept he knows every hurt you had he knows the pain that you're going through and there's healing here and now because when jesus passes by when jesus passes by you can call out call out to him because he is here he is here and he's here wherever you are not just in this particular place but he's here and he'll be here with you where you're at monday and right through it's not about the place so much as the person and there's healing now because of

[20:00] Jesus today there's healing for the hurting there's restoration there's recovery because he enters into our grief he's touched he's moved he's feels with that feeling that we have he's not some unfeeling remote insensitive kind of theoretical kind of guy he's real he's real and jesus was moved with compassion so friends when you have those times when it feels like you're in despair jesus is passing by jesus is passing by can't you hear his footsteps can't you sense his presence even though we're blind you can hear he's here call on him like the blind men do and he'll touch your knee today he's moved with compassion let the process of healing begin in your life he healeth the broken in heart and binders up their wounds when jesus steps in there's a tenderness there's an affection there's a deep love as the song goes does jesus care oh yes he cares i know he cares his heart is touched with my grief when the days are weary the long nights dreary i know i know i know my savior cares i know my savior cares the leper cried out when jesus came in mark 1 39 and he preached in all their synagogues throughout all galilee and cast out devils and there came a leper to him beseeching him kneeling down to him and saying unto him if thou wilt thou canst make me clean and jesus moved with compassion put forth his hand and shock horror touched him he touched the leper wow that was an absolute no no that was taboo he broke all the rules jesus touched the leper he put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him i will be thou clean and as soon as he had spoken immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed notice when jesus came the man cried and jesus had compassion when it says he was moved with compassion it speaks of a gut wrenching movement that's the sense of it here you know it's probably not polite to say the word guts but that's what it is it's the guts and jesus is gutsy he's got an inner compassion that moves him he's got a an inner feeling that is deep deep within his heart within his being and jesus is moved with compassion as a gut wrenching response from our god when we have a need he's moved with compassion and he's still moved today in luke 19 it says when jesus saw the city when he beheld the city he wept over it you know the lord jesus wept over the city he saw them as like chicks that wouldn't come to the hen he saw as he wanted to enfold them and protect and provide refuge for them that they would not they would not and he beheld the city and wept

[24:00] over it friends think of him today think of this one today that he is here today and he is truly God the God of all comfort the God of all comfort maybe you don't need this message right now but maybe you're going to need it Monday morning you're going to need the God of all comfort!

[24:27] all comfort the God with skin on the God of all comfort in 2 Corinthians 1 it says blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who comforts in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort where we ourselves are comforted of God so sometimes your difficult situation is so God can respond with his comfort so that then later you can comfort others sometimes we get selfish as Christians I think where we have a pity party woe is me everything is going wrong but we don't stop to think of others with needs and how others might have deeper needs than us and we need to learn to care and consider his deep compassion for us powerful compassion his comfort now we read earlier of the comforter that will come and he's here now the comforter the comforter he sends his spirit as the comforter it's that same word of 1

[25:52] John 2 1 where it's translated advocate it's the same word comforter of the Holy Spirit the like word is translated in these two different ways the advocate Jesus Christ the counsel who comes alongside to help in the courtroom as it were and then the comforter the Holy Spirit comes Jesus says I'm going to send another comforter I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever that means now doesn't it forever means now doesn't it because we're in the forever that Jesus said in John 14 16 he may abide with you in other words remain stay with you forever and he sends his comforter the advocate the one who comes alongside to help now when you're going through trouble isn't it nice to have someone just put their arm around you isn't that a good feeling even when they don't say anything isn't that a good feeling that's what we need isn't it not coming alongside to get anything out of us but just to come alongside and to come alongside to help to put their arm around our shoulder and give us a hug and that's what

[27:10] Jesus does that's what he does that's what the comforter does the Holy Spirit when we're feeling like we're going through the mill I'll give you another comforter and he shall abide if you need comfort today go to the comforter amen if you need comfort go to the comforter today he abides with you forever and if you have a broken heart know that God is near you today Psalm 34 the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles the Lord is nigh nigh it means near unto them that are of a broken heart and saith such as be of a contrite spirit many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all the Lord is near to those that are of a broken heart Psalm 61 shows us that sometimes our heart can be overwhelmed who's ever had those moments

[28:13] I know I've heard some say they've been so overwhelmed that they could scarcely pray and sometimes your heart can be overwhelmed it just seems like it's just too heavy for you to carry when your heart is overwhelmed it says he will lift you up he will lift you up Psalm 61 verse 2 from the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I there's a rock that you can count on there's a rock that is higher than you today when all around is sinking sand when there is that sinking clay sinking sand of our sin there's a rock that you can take!

[29:00] refuge in! there's a rock that is higher than you and when your heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I when your heart is weighed down pour it out psalm 62 8 it says trust in him at all times ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us psalm 62 verse 8 trust in him some of the!

[29:31] well no that's the wrong version trust in him at all times at all times ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us you know you hear of some people in the US at the moment the preppers instead of them they're burrowing into the ground and creating bomb shelters and storing away their food for the coming disaster that they fear will happen and maybe it's not a bad idea but they want to take refuge because they can sense that things are hotting up on the world stage they want to be somewhere as safe God is a refuge for us you don't need a bomb shelter you need God to be the refuge the one to take refuge in you know we should all be refugees refugees you know

[30:33] I know some of you know what that means today so be fleeing a land where you're not safe to go to somewhere where you're safe and friends the city of destruction is about to go down and we need to run to flee to a safe place and the only safe place to be is in his arms the only safe place to be is in the one who is the refuge for us he's the only one the rock that is higher than I the God of all comfort the God with skin on the God that is moved compassion the God that hears our crying and touches us and saves us he is our refuge he is your refuge in your darkest hours in your deepest need and he can turn your mourning into dancing he can help you put off your sack cloth and your ashes and be clothed with his robe of righteousness and he speaks peace to the soul even though your heart is broken all is not lost he can repair it he can repair it if you would but give him all the broken pieces today he can restore the broken heart and make you whole friends he's in the business of making people whole you know you hear of furniture restoration businesses they take that lump of wood that's broken and fit to dump or burn and they take it and lovingly restore it back to its former glory as they apply the furniture polish and the sandpaper and the glue and they restore it to the beauty that it once had and that's what

[32:22] God can do with you and me he's in the business of making people whole in Acts 9 we see Peter came and there was a certain man who kept his bed eight years he was there lying paralysed in Acts 9 and Peter said unto him Aeneas Jesus Christ maketh thee whole arise and make thy bed and he arose immediately and all that dwelt at litter and saun saw him and turned to the Lord just like Peter said I can say to you by the authority of God's holy word Jesus Christ maketh thee whole without him you're not whole you're incomplete there's a big empty space but friends you can know what it means in the Bible it says you are complete in him our completeness is found in him you know without

[33:23] God we're incomplete there's something missing something vital is missing but when Jesus comes he makes people whole he makes us complete and he starts with the heart it's with the heart that he starts his work and he restores the broken pieces the heart broken up by sin that's a good start when your heart is broken up by sin and you realise your great need you turn to the only one who can fix your heart heart and we're not talking about the cardiologist down at the hospital we're talking about the great heart doctor the one who actually gives you a whole new heart he gives you a heart transplant and he makes you whole how is your heart is it a heart tender towards God is it a heart that you know has failed and fallen broken it's a good place to start when you realise that your heart can be broken up over your sin over your standing over your state over the despair that is within and cry out like the blind man like the leper like the widow woman hear his voice feel his heart his heartbeat can't you hear it his heart is moved with compassion how is your heart it's the very core of us and we're instructed in the bible to love

[35:11] God with all our heart that's what we're to do that's impossible isn't it but he makes it happen to love God with all our heart he calls on us to guard our heart guard it garrison it protect it it says what comes out of our heart defiles us it says all that we do flows from our heart it says that our heart condition determines whether we will receive the word or not some people's heart is harder than that some people's heart is like a sponge will God soften your heart I pray God is working in every heart today the Lord speaking of a time in his word where men's hearts will fail them for fear because of what's going to happen there's some fearful things ahead some men's hearts are going to fail them for fear a preacher said of a man having a heart attack at 40 we don't know how long we've got do we and the one who speaks to us today is the great heart doctor you can come to him and his promise to you is he healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds our

[36:37] Lord wants to come alongside it says cast him all your care on him for he careth for you what about us do we know his compassion or are we indifferent and uncaring now when God moves in us and touches us and changes us we should have compassion too sometimes we miss that and Luke 10 is a good one to take stock of the good Samaritan when we see a man beaten left to die people wander by cast their eyes over him and turn away and then a certain Samaritan he saw him and had compassion on him he went to him he bound up his wounds poured in oil and wine set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him now do we have the compassion of

[37:50] Jesus I think sometimes we miss that we can get so lacking in compassion can't we really that we it's all about me it's what some people think isn't it it's all about me but think of others today think of others and have compassion on on those fellow travelers on the road today like Jesus says to know that compassion know his compassion today and show his compassion come to him today He healeth the broken in half and bindeth up their wounds.

[38:32] To close, I urge you today to be amongst those who call out when Jesus passes by.

[38:44] And he won't turn aside from your cry. He'll be moved with compassion. Let us pray. Let us pray.