Bibles to Isaiah chapter 61.
I'm not doing the exact same message necessarily as I would have done that night,
! but I am using the same text and just sort of tweaking it a little bit just to focus on a topic that has meant a lot to myself over the years.
Because most of you who know me well know that Isaiah is probably my favorite, most dear Old Testament book, I would say, close to the Psalms.
And there's just so much in there that yells Jesus and yells the glory of God.
And it's very important to me because around 2012, I would say, doesn't really matter, around 2012, I was going through a very difficult time in my life.
As one who has suffered with a chronic disease, I was having a lot of health issues.
And so the term healing has always meant a lot to me.
And it's used a lot in the scripture.
And I was going through a number of different trials at that time.
I would definitely say I had some mild depression kind of going on.
Feeling like a failure in many different areas of my life.
Feeling very fruitless in ministry terms.
Just like I've been doing the same thing.
Where is this going?
A lot of burnout.
And very lonely.
Very lonely from being single.
I had a number of really, really close brothers of mine that multiple guys had just moved off that year.
And are in many different places in the world right now.
But just feeling that loss as well.
And I think Nathan and Chris Stewart at the time saw just how bad I was doing and just told me to take a break.
So I did.
And of course, y'all know me.
I went to my favorite wee island in the North Atlantic for about a month or so.
And God just met with me there in a very powerful way.
And some of the stuff that the Lord did there will be shared throughout this.
But one of the passages that God used during that time was the first few verses here in Isaiah 61.
And to focus on how Christ came to heal the brokenhearted.
And I listened to an old vintage classic sermon by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones.
And I've already promised a few people I would try to say it like in his Welsh accent.
But Christ came to heal the brokenhearted.
That's the best way I can say it.
And so we're going to focus on that today.
But let's just read the first few verses of Isaiah 61.
This is the third, I guess, song of what they call the servants.
Poems that are here in Isaiah.
Talking about the suffering servant that is to come.
Speaking of Christ.
But first one.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me.
Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.
To proclaim liberty to the captives.
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
And the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort all who mourn.
And to grant to those who mourn in Zion.
To give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes.
The oil of gladness instead of mourning.
The garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
That they may be called oaks of righteousness.
The planting of the Lord.
That he may be glorified.
Just pray with me for a moment.
Father.
I know that myself and many people even just present today.
What every one of us have experienced.
What it means to have a broken heart.
All of us Lord.
Sin has touched us.
Wrecked us.
Destroyed us.
And Lord I pray that you would use your word.
In your spirit.
To surgically just work in our hearts this morning.
If we're distracted.
I pray you'd help us focus.
If we're hungry.
I pray that we would.
Be able to put all our mind.
And our heart on you.
Knowing that you're better than anything this world has to offer.
That you would teach us.
And that we would walk out of here.
Not the same.
We walk out changed Father.
And only you can do this.
So I ask that you would.
By your grace Lord.
In Christ's name.
Amen.
So.
A few points for you today.
Number one.
God created our hearts.
To belong to him.
God created our hearts to belong to him.
So.
When God created the heavens and the earth.
And all of creation echoes the glory and excellence of God.
We are created in his image.
A very special part of creation.
Created to reflect his character.
His beauty.
His splendor.
In a way that no other part of creation.
Could.
And.
He also created our hearts.
To belong to him.
And the word heart.
Occurs.
Over a thousand times.
In scripture.
Making it the most common term.
Probably related to.
Who we are.
As beings created.
In the image of God.
And Christ often highlighted.
The importance of the heart.
In the gospels.
The heart is referred to.
Forty times.
Or so.
And so.
Just to.
You could go all kinds of different directions with this.
But just to.
To nail it down a little bit.
What is the heart?
Heart.
The heart is the center of our emotions.
Affections.
Desires.
And intellectual.
Moral activities.
So.
The Bible talks about the thoughts of our heart.
And the desires of our heart.
Heart.
And it makes up a vital part of our spiritual makeup.
A lot of men don't like to talk about their hearts.
I have a friend who was a.
U.S.
Army major.
And he had.
He and some other officers had to get together.
In this little.
Psychiatric counseling session.
You can imagine all his old war vests.
Sitting in there.
In a circle.
With a counselor.
Being like.
How do you feel?
You know.
Talk about your heart.
And they're just going.
No.
That's not going to happen.
And one of them was given a box of tissues.
And he just like.
Tossed it over his shoulder.
Like.
I'm not going to do this.
This is stupid.
But men need to talk about.
The heart.
Because you have one.
And you either learn to.
Control it.
And channel it.
For God's glory.
Or.
It's going to control you.
And dominate you.
And so.
The heart is where our desires.
Our affections are.
It's where we experience joy.
And delight.
In turn.
A term that you see a lot in scripture.
To be good of heart.
Is also there.
The heart is where we make decisions.
Every day.
We make choices and decisions.
Based on the desires of our heart.
We don't just randomly do things.
We act in accordance to what is in our heart.
As Nathan said to King David.
Whatever is in your heart.
Go and do that.
Go and do that thing.
And so we were created.
To love the Lord with our heart.
As we know it says in the Shema.
It begins that way.
To love the Lord your God by your heart.
By your soul.
And your mind.
And your strength.
And so.
We were made to find our joy.
Our delight.
And to have everything we do in life.
Channeled toward.
Driven by.
The sole motive.
Of knowing Christ.
Knowing God.
And honoring Him.
We're purposed for this.
But.
Sounds great.
But it leads us to the second point.
Which is.
Sin has broken.
Our hearts.
Sin has broken our hearts.
So though we were made to love the Lord with all our heart.
And to desire fellowship with Him.
Tragically.
Sin has caused our hearts to be broken.
In fact.
You would think that the term a broken heart would come from some sort of.
Greek myth literature.
Romantic writing.
But it doesn't.
It comes from.
From the scripture.
In ancient Hebrew.
The term a broken heart.
Is a.
Term that comes from the scripture.
And.
The word is very strong.
It's.
Shabar.
It means to have one's heart broken.
Maimed.
Or crippled.
Wrecked.
Crushed.
And shattered.
Tough words.
Ever felt like that before?
Ever had your heart so.
Maimed and crippled.
That your.
Emotions were just bleeding out.
All over the place.
Bleeding all over your soul.
And had your heart just kind of thrown down to the ground.
And.
Smashed.
By sin.
Like a.
Fragile piece of china.
Your emotions just so crushed and dashed by the heavy.
Foot of sin.
I have.
In many different ways.
Sin hurts.
Sin is terrible.
Sin is painful.
It's not a.
A nice master.
So with our hearts detached from God.
We experience sorrow and sadness.
Instead of joy.
We experience depression and despair.
Instead of.
Happiness.
Anger and madness.
And fear and anxiety.
Instead of a quiet trust in our creator.
This is what sin does to our hearts.
It's totally jacked our hearts up.
Messed us up.
The wisdom writer said.
In Ecclesiastes 9.
The hearts of the children of man are full of evil.
Madness is in their hearts.
While they live.
And after they.
And after they go to the dead.
sin brings no true gladness.
We all know this is true.
Sin destroys our hearts.
It wrecks our hearts.
Even before our lives are over.
Our hearts are long gone.
Sin brings only failure and ruin.
Ruin.
You ever just.
You know.
As believers.
You have a particular sin.
That just always seems to keep resurfacing.
And you've.
You've sought to never give in to it again.
And then.
You do.
And you hate yourself.
For it.
You turn back around.
And beat.
Yourself up.
For your failure.
Committed.
Some of us.
You know.
We've committed.
I'll put myself in this category.
We've committed such.
Vile acts of sin.
In our life.
That we would be.
Completely.
Shamed.
If.
People knew about it.
David describes our.
Our broken heart.
A condition.
Well.
In many of the Psalms.
He says.
For I am afflicted.
And needy.
And my heart.
Is wounded.
Within me.
In Psalm 38.
He says.
I am feeble.
And crushed.
I groan.
Because of the tumult.
Or uproar.
In my heart.
Oh Lord.
All my longing.
Is before you.
My sighing.
Is not hidden from you.
My heart.
Throbs.
And aches.
My strength.
Fails me.
In the light of my eyes.
Even it.
Is gone.
From me.
So.
Broken hearted people.
Feel shame.
They feel despair.
And because of that.
Because we've failed.
So much.
We feel hopeless.
There's no.
Answer.
And sin has done.
A lot of things to us.
But I just wanted to highlight.
A few.
In relationship to.
Our hearts.
And our affections.
Because of that.
We're alienated.
From God.
And his love.
Sin has made us.
Cosmic fugitives.
Fleeing from.
The presence of God.
We don't want.
Fellowship with him.
We don't naturally.
Desire it.
At all.
We hate to talk about.
Sin.
Particularly our sin.
Because we know.
That it can't stand.
In the presence of a holy God.
From the outset.
Of the fall.
Again.
It starts to highlight.
What happened to our hearts.
In Genesis 6.
5.
The Lord saw.
That the wickedness of man.
Was great.
On the earth.
And that.
Every intention.
Of the thoughts.
Of his heart.
Was only evil.
Continually.
Paul wrote.
Same thing.
In Ephesians 5.
8.
He says that.
Unbelievers.
Walk in the futility.
Of their minds.
They are darkened.
In their understanding.
Alienated.
From the life.
Of God.
Because of the ignorance.
That is in them.
Due to their hardness.
Of heart.
They have become callous.
And have given themselves.
Up to sensuality.
Greedy.
To practice.
Every kind of impurity.
So.
We are shut out.
From fellowship with God.
Our hearts are separated.
From God.
All we like sheep.
Have gone astray.
Each.
To our own way.
And.
We forfeited.
This great pleasure.
We have had.
And we are.
Incapable now.
Because of sin.
Of honoring God.
And loving God.
As we ought to.
Separated from the one object.
That our hearts were made for.
So.
Consequently.
Our.
We are alienated.
From God.
And his love.
But we are also alienated.
From each other.
Other human beings.
If you have no connection with God.
You.
You can't have.
A real connection.
With those.
Other people.
That are created in his image.
We are at odds.
With one another.
With the rest of mankind.
Nine.
So sin has caused us.
Not just to inflict injury.
On ourselves.
But on others.
Around us.
No matter who they are.
Family.
Friends.
Strangers.
We hurt each other.
Very well.
And it's the result of.
Sin.
Damaging us.
Sin has caused our hearts.
To love.
Things that.
Are just.
Nasty.
And vile.
And we.
We drag.
Others down with us.
Paul said.
We pass our days.
In malice.
And envy.
Hated by others.
And hating.
One another.
Sin in our hearts.
Caused us to hurt others.
With our words.
And our actions.
As David said.
And insults.
And reproach.
Have broken my heart.
I am full of heaviness.
And I am distressingly sick.
We have all experienced this.
Disconnected in our marriages.
Where.
You may have.
A situation at times.
Where.
Your spouse may just feel like a roommate to you.
You don't really have.
A close connection with your spouse anymore.
Sin leads us to fail each other constantly.
And destroy each other's trust.
It's hardened our hearts.
And we're trapped.
We don't even care about our own plight.
What other creature in existence always does what's not the best for itself.
We constantly do what's not good for us.
So we're indifferent to our own plight.
And we're definitely indifferent to the plight of those who are around us.
So sin has brought enmity.
Not just with God.
But also with each other.
So we've all done it.
You've hurt somebody with careless words or actions.
Some of us have been treated by others.
With such contempt.
And rejection.
That it's broken our hearts.
Cruelty.
So angry and jealous with someone.
That you almost just wish them harm because of it.
It's made us be very indifferent.
So it doesn't take a lot just to look around this world and see how all of us are broken.
Sin has broken our hearts and alienated us from each other.
But as we'll look in a minute from our text.
Another result of this is we're captives to Satan and destructive patterns of sin.
And life.
We're not free agents just doing as we please.
But captives to sin.
And the word is very powerful.
It means a type of bondage which a person cannot break.
By willpower or resolve.
You cannot free yourself.
You're a captive to sin.
Slaves to sin.
Titus 3.3
We are foolish, disobedient, led astray.
Slaves to various passions and pleasures.
And it says in the scripture, Paul said that unbelievers are slaves to Satan, held captive by him to do his will.
Very chilling words.
Under the snare of the devil.
And we know that our hearts are broken because many of our initial knee-jerk reactions to situations come from life patterns that we've learned.
We've learned a lot of it from our childhood.
But growing up into young adulthood, acceptance or rejection, confidence in our insecurity in our lives comes in a large time by childhood into early adulthood.
We overreact to difficult situations.
And have reoccurring bouts of emotional pain.
We just don't ever been that way like something just happened and you had this strong feeling just come over you that was awful.
You don't know where it came from, but this is seemed to kind of fall out of the blue.
Sin has messed us up.
But have you ever felt that way?
Captive to a certain pattern of sin?
Living in a prison of lies that you believe you can't break free from?
Can't stop trying to measure up to people that are around you?
Some of it is captivity to things like alcohol, pornography, drugs, laziness, indifference.
We all have lived in places of captivity where it feels like no truth can penetrate us.
And again, having a chronic disease, I've learned a good bit about this kind of stuff.
But just like with human illness, doctors know there's a huge difference between treating symptoms of an illness
and trying to actually cure or heal the condition itself.
Most of our medicine, most of it, is focused on just treating the symptoms.
Take this pill, feel better.
Just treating the outward signs of things.
Much of my medication has been that way over the years.
But likewise, God says our hearts are sick and broken.
Jeremiah, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.
Who can understand it?
So at the very best, this world is aware of a broken hearted condition,
but psychiatrists, counselors, self-help books can only treat symptoms of this problem.
They'll say things like take up a hobby.
Think more positive.
Find something that you're good at.
Eat right.
Exercise.
None of those things are bad,
but they can't heal and totally restore your broken heart.
They can't do it.
They can only treat the symptoms.
Our heart has been just smashed by the wrecking ball of sin and evil.
So either, okay, so either you're an emotional mess where you just gush out and bleed out your emotions all over the place all the time,
or you're just totally dominated by how you feel all the time.
No objective thing that drives you, and you become a burden to those around you, and you refuse to be comforted.
And people might see you as weak or puny or a wuss, whatever.
On the other hand, I would throw myself more in this category.
You harden your heart.
You say, this hurts too much, so I'm not going to care anymore.
And you shut down and guard yourself.
You dull your feelings and say, I don't care.
Come what may.
So you're seeing us indifferent, tough.
But neither one of those are helpful, and neither one of those are God-honoring.
Neither one.
So you may think, well, I'm not an emotional wreck.
I'm good.
Well, your heart is broken just as much.
We all need healing.
So this brings us into the good news.
We're not left here.
The third point, number three, is Jesus came to heal our broken hearts.
So Jesus came to heal our broken hearts.
The sadness, depression, loneliness, anger, rage, bitterness that we feel can be overwhelming.
But God is drawn near to us in the person of Christ.
God with us.
Emmanuel.
And the scripture is fulfilled.
We read, so please hold your place in Isaiah 61.
But flip over to Luke chapter 4.
Luke chapter 4.
In verse 16, this is following Jesus' baptism by John and temptation in the wilderness by Satan.
And in the very outset of his earthly ministry, we kind of read this.
It says,
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.
And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
And he stood up and read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to, a lot of your translations may say this, it's a translation thing,
But to heal the brokenhearted.
To proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind.
To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
He rolled up the scroll.
He gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them,
Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
What a place to be.
Can you imagine being in that room?
Just shocked, amazed.
That Jesus was claiming that he was the fulfillment of this messianic prophecy.
That came at his time around 700 years before he came on the scene.
Like one that God foretold about.
Does that not warm your heart to think about that?
But I wanted you to see that.
That he refers to this very text we just read from Isaiah 61.
But as we walk through it together and look at how Christ has dealt with each one of these issues we've been discussing.
Alienation from God, each other, captive to sin.
To get a fuller picture.
I wanted you to see that.
But flip back over to Isaiah 61.
We'll stay there.
So, we start off in verse 1 where it says,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.
And the Spirit was upon Christ.
If you remember, the Spirit came upon him in this very chapter at his baptism.
He was the one baptized by John.
It said,
The Spirit and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven.
You are my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
So, the Spirit of God anointed and empowered him to do the will of his Father.
To proclaim salvation and deliverance from the tyranny of sin.
And the Father is speaking, giving his approval, his seal on his Son.
So, we see that in the first verse of Isaiah 61.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Yahweh is upon me.
So, he is that Messiah.
Look on verse 1.
You see that he says,
I've come to give good news to the poor.
As we've learned, right?
That being poor in spirit is a realization of how bankrupt and broken we are spiritually before God.
We have nothing to bring of ourselves on behalf of God that God will be pleased of.
We've preached on this in the past.
But the poor in spirit are spiritually in depth.
We don't have anything.
Christ said,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So, he's come to proclaim good news to the poor.
So, then we see this next part, the other part of verse 1.
He's come to heal the brokenhearted.
So, he doesn't just come to treat the symptoms, right?
He doesn't just come to treat the outward signs of our inward condition.
But he comes to heal.
He doesn't treat us like a lot of doctors would.
Like, take this pill, get out of my face, go home.
I've had some like that, not many.
Didn't work out well for them after that.
But he doesn't just do that.
Christ comes to not just treat, but heal.
And that term is to bind up, powerfully restore, and revive our broken hearts.
Jesus is a sympathetic, compassionate physician who is able to heal our disease, and thus, all the symptoms that come with it.
You heal the disease, you have everything else that's taken care of.
So, listen, like, this is important.
But yes, Christ came to carry out the will of his Father and to honor him in walking obedience and all that he did.
Yes, Christ came to bear our sins on the cross and save us from eternal damnation.
But he also came to heal his people of the devastating effects of sin on our hearts of stone and give us a new heart of flesh that beats for God.
And he does so by surgically removing our hearts.
Every generation, removing the heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh.
The Holy Spirit does this work as he applies the work of Christ to our hearts and revives us.
Christ cares.
It says many times in the Scripture, in Psalm 147,
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wombs.
And Christ is the instrument to do this.
So, he's come to heal our broken hearts.
Look on verse 1, he talks about setting the captives free.
So, in the context, they might have been just hearing, like,
Oh, he's come to set us free from the Babylonian captivity when Jesus said this.
That's what he's talking about.
But he explains that it has a fuller meaning, a deeper sense spiritually.
Much greater than Moses delivering the Jews from Egypt.
Much greater than Cyrus delivering the Jews from Babylon.
But Jesus leading us out of spiritual captivity, spiritual slavery.
He's come to set us free and liberate us from the destructive patterns of sin that we cannot stop by ourselves.
To proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
It's this image of prison doors being ripped off and captives springing from the cells and running free.
He's bought us to set us free.
I love the, can't resist the old John Wesley hymn here.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay.
Fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray.
I woke the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off and my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
So, he's come to proclaim liberty, freedom, to those who are in captivity by sin.
And so, then he goes on, Jesus, and he talks about the year of the Lord's favor.
He's come to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
But here, if you're looking at Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 side by side, he stops, right?
He doesn't just keep reading.
That made me kind of clue in to what is happening.
But he stops reading the first part of verse 2 in Isaiah 61.
Why?
Because by his first coming, he was indicating that he was ushering in the year of the Lord's favor.
And that means that there's this season of grace that we're living in even right now
where God welcomes sinners to come to him and be saved through Jesus.
It's a chance to come and be restored.
A season of salvation where God grants mercy to those who come for forgiveness and restoration.
He stops there, and that day will come to an end.
Because if you read the rest, it talks about there is an appointed day of vengeance of our God.
The day of judgment where Christ comes back at his second coming, and he will then fulfill the rest of that prophecy.
Now is the favorable time of salvation.
So he fulfills all these things, but not all at the same time.
He's come to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
We can go on, though, to comfort the mourning, to comfort all those who are mourning because of sin.
Sin has not brought us joy as it promised.
And so Jesus doesn't just take a negative view on our pain, on mourning.
Don't you find it astounding that it says in Psalm 56 that God collects our tears in his bottle?
Something that he's moved by the brokenness of his people, by compassion.
And Isaiah declares that this deep sorrow over sin, rebellion against God, will one day be turned into rejoicing at the arrival of Christ.
That's why he says, blessed are those who mourn, for you will be comforted.
Your time of mourning is over.
Your time in darkness is over.
Come to me, and I will give you a new heart and a new start.
So we could go on, just look at the rest of this.
Verse 3 is worth looking at here.
To grant those who mourn in Zion.
To give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes.
But Christ brings us a holy attire to wear.
So many awesome images here.
So on our journey, that is sanctification, will one day be brought to fruition and glorification.
God will take the deep mourning of our hearts and bring it to a complete end.
We can begin experiencing that now, but it will be brought to a complete end at the glorification.
So we see a beautiful headdress instead of ashes.
A lot of us know that throwing ashes on the head was a symbolical sign of hitting rock bottom, of deep sorrow, grief, and despair.
But on the other hand, a headdress, a crown was symbolic of abundance and joy, of celebration.
A headdress of celebration to make Mary our freedom and salvation in Christ.
The oil of gladness instead of mourning.
The garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Holy garments of salvation to be worn in this celebration that we will one day partake in.
And I love this last part of verse 3.
That they may be called oaks of righteousness.
Sin, we blow around all over the place.
We have no roots.
We have no foundation.
We're just destroyed by any little thing that comes along.
But Christ will give us His righteousness.
As we all know, we will be oaks of righteousness.
Strong, beautiful, sturdy, lasting people who can stand before God one day.
Same language is repeated a little later in verse 10 in the same chapter in Isaiah 61,
where it talks about Him giving us garments of salvation and robes of righteousness in verse 10.
All that, all for the purpose of God being glorified.
That is the goal and the purpose of this all.
The healing of our broken hearts.
The restoration, our liberation from captivity of sin.
All that, the Lord will be glorified.
God.
So, in conclusion, you're in either one of these camps.
There's only two.
Some of you may not know Christ.
You haven't.
If you were to look on in Luke 4 where Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah,
you'll see that everyone there didn't believe Him.
They rejected Him.
They were angry.
They were infuriated that He would claim to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61.
I know that if you're a very sick person and in the hospital,
you're dying for the doctor to come in and say,
you're doing better or you're healed.
You're waiting for that good news.
But you have to be aware that you're sick.
The only people who are going to be healed by Christ are those who recognize their sinful, broken condition.
You haven't come to bring salvation to the healthy but the sick, right?
So, don't be like those who pushed Him out of the synagogue.
But embrace Him and be saved and be restored.
For the rest of us here who are in Christ,
sometimes like the journey of following Jesus hasn't turned out like we thought it was going to be.
We expected some tough stuff to come,
but when you look at your life, it just feels like I have been through more than I ever thought.
It's just turned out to be more sadness and trial rather than joy.
Your heart's been broken by the destructive patterns of sin in your life
that you just can't seem to move on from in your Christian life.
Maybe even despair to the point where you just quit asking for prayer about it.
You ever been there, just so embarrassed to ask for the same thing over and over and over in prayer?
You've despaired that far.
You feel like a loser.
You feel the glory and joy of Christ has eluded you in some way.
And so, you just want to lay down and quit?
But there's deliverance for us.
God gave us a new heart when we were born again.
God has the ability to create new things.
When David prayed in Psalm 51,
Lord, create in me a new heart.
I love that the word create that's used there is also used in Genesis 1,
where it talks about creating the universe.
So, by that same power that God created the universe,
He speaks new life into our hearts.
He has that power to create in us a new heart.
So, God creates new hearts,
but He draws near to people who are brokenhearted and contrite and lowly spirits.
And I wanted to close with this,
but Isaiah 57, just turn there and we'll be done.
But as most of us good,
reformed people,
we often just neglect the love and compassion of our God.
I know I do.
But He loves and He delights to draw near to those
who are a contrite heart and humble.
So, in this context,
God is speaking to Judah,
but it also reveals His heart for His people
when we are His people.
So, Isaiah 57, verse 15,
For thus says the one who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity,
and whose name is holy.
I dwell in the high and holy place.
And we kind of stop there.
Like, God's untouchable, right?
And also with Him who is of contrite and lowly,
humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite,
those who have been bruised by the sorrow of sin.
For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for the spirit would grow faint before me
in the breath of life that I have made.
Isn't that amazing?
Like, God knows just how hard He can push you
without breaking you.
And He does it out of compassion.
He understands that at some point
it would overwhelm you and destroy you,
so He knows just how hard to press us.
Verse 17,
Because of the iniquity of His unjust gain,
I was angry.
I struck Him.
I hid my face and was angry.
But He went on backsliding in the way of His own heart.
Then there.
This is what God says,
I have seen His ways,
but I will heal Him.
I will lead Him and restore comfort to Him and His mourners,
creating the fruit of the lips,
giving us new praise to give to God.
Peace,
peace to the far and to the near,
says the Lord,
and I will heal Him.
So I encourage you to think about
the real desire that Christ has
to heal our broken hearts
from how bad sin has messed us up.
He wants to restore us.
Go before Him,
dig in His Word,
and ask,
like,
why do I behave this way?
Or why do I have these desires,
our feelings?
Let Him reveal to you what that is.
And then take the Gospel
and put it on you
and massage it into your soul
in those broken places.
Let's pray together.