Sunday,
July 7, 2013
LORD, BREAK ME
"I think it's broke. Yes, it's definitely broken." Those are not words which we enjoy
hearing. Why not? Because if it's broken, that means it has to
be fixed. If it isn't fixed, then of
what value is it? I can't use it. If I try to sell it, its brokenness greatly
reduces its value, if it doesn't declare it worthless altogether.
Against that background, what do we
do with a declaration like that of William MacDonald? "God wants us all to be broken"
(chapter title in True Discipleship, p. 147). We might say instead, "There is only one
thing more tragic than broken things, and that is broken people." Nevertheless, we are confronted with that
bold statement, "God wants us all to be broken."
The truth is that all of us have
much experience in laboring long and hard to make sure we aren't broken. And if we ever have to admit to ourselves
that we are broken, then we double our efforts to try to fix what is
broken. Add to that all the labor and
diligence required to make it appear we aren't broken, and life
can become a heavy burden. Yet that is
the typical life of the man or woman who lives in this world.
While you hang on to that burden,
remember that the God who created us is a holy God. "The Lord is high above all nations and
His above the heavens" (Ps. 113:4). "There is none holy as the Lord" (I
Sam. 2:2). He is in a class by
Himself. Sin is such an affront to God
that a man who reached out to steady the ark, where God's presence dwelt, was
immediately killed. Man cannot stand in
the presence of a holy God. God demands
perfection. With that in mind, it
doesn't make sense for a human being to be comfortable with the thought of
being broken. How can a God who demands
perfection desire that His creatures be broken?
So what does William MacDonald mean,
when he says, "God wants us all to be broken?" Wouldn't it be correct to say that we are
all broken? Isn't that what Paul meant
when he said, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of
God"? When we compare all our
efforts at being righteous with a perfect, holy, and righteous Creator,
wouldn't it be accurate to say that we are indeed broken?
The answer is a resounding,
"No, that is not the meaning of brokenness from God's point of
view." How do we know? We read statements like this: "The Lord is near to them who are of a
broken heart and saves such as be of a contrite spirit" (Ps.
34:18). This verse clearly
implies that not everyone is of a broken heart.
So being a sinner does not constitute being broken. Nor does the presence of great affliction and
sorrow equal brokenness. There is a
sense in which a parent who loses a young child is brokenhearted, but that does
not mean she is broken in a biblical sense.
Some of us have known people who instead of being broken before God as a
result of such an experience, have actually become angry and bitter toward Him.
Biblical brokenness is an attitude
toward God. That is what we want to
explore this morning. How long has it
been since you prayed, "Lord, break me"? Have you ever prayed that prayer? Does the thought of such a prayer scare
you? Have you ever seen the beauty of
being broken?
I. The Way of Brokenness
Please turn to the 14th chapter of
Luke. We will go ahead and read the
first six verses of the chapter in order to get the flow. This also reminds us that the words Jesus
spoke in verses 7-11 were in the home of a Pharisee. Let's read Luke 14:1-11...
Now it
happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to
eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. 2 And behold, there
was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to
the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath?" 4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let
him go. 5 Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or
an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the
Sabbath day?" 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things. 7 So
He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the
best places, saying to them: 8 "When you are invited by anyone to a
wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than
you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come But when you are
invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you
comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in
the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Suppose someone invites you to the
table at a wedding feast. Do not choose
the best place. Literally, "Do not
be seated in the first place, the chief place, the highest place." Jesus is speaking of the place of the highest
honor. We might liken it to being seated
at the head table at a banquet. Don't
allow yourself to be seated in the place of honor, because if you do, what
happens if later your host comes and has to ask you to get up and take a place
of lesser importance? That would be
embarrassing to you and everyone else.
So instead of taking the most honorable place, choose to sit in the
lowest place, the least honorable place.
[By the way, we have to understand this in light of the culture. As I said, in our day, we would liken this to
seating at a banquet, where there is a head table. If we think about seating in this building,
it will make little sense. For some
reason, the most honorable seats here seem to be in the back. Either that, or most of you are so noble that
you wouldn't think of taking the seats of honor located at the front! I know better!] After you have taken the lowest seat, if it
is proper for you to be seated in a more honorable place, the host will come
and escort you to that seat. Instead of
being embarrassed, you will be honored.
We could almost boil it down to this:
"Don't honor yourself; if you are to be honored, let someone else
do it." Then Jesus closes the
parable with those words which He speaks on several occasions: "For whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
I want to draw a parallel between
being broken and taking the lowest place.
Brokenness before God isn't necessarily measured by the number of tears
a person sheds. It isn't always
associated with some sin that is especially wicked in its nature. Brokenness is an attitude toward God that is
content to take the lowest place. Yes,
there may be a crisis experience in which a man is broken before God, where he
is reduced to nothing and his sin in all its ugliness is exposed for all to
see. I've been there. But even that experience does not of itself
constitute brokenness; the key is the inward attitude toward God. Brokenness is content to take the lowest
place.
We may look at the parable Jesus
tells and find little problem with its application in our lives. "I don't mind taking the lowest seat at
a banquet. I don't like sitting at the
head table anyway." Understand that
while the setting of this parable has to do with seating at a wedding feast,
its application spreads far beyond that context. Consider your reputation. Does it mean anything to you? Suppose you have a reputation for being cool,
calm, and collected. Then one day you
learn that an acquaintance with whom you had a disagreement has been telling
people that you blew up, yelled at her, and threw a temper tantrum on the
spot. How do you handle that? What is your attitude? Are you willing to take the lowest place, or
will you rise to the occasion and insist on setting things right? Such an experience is what Amy Carmichael
would call "a chance to die."
(Elizabeth Elliot wrote a book about Amy Carmichael and used "A
Chance to Die" for the title). When
rumors were spreading about John Wesley, that godly preacher of the 18th
century, those who were close to him came and asked him what they were going to
do. His response went something like
this: "We will do
nothing." He let go of his
reputation and left it with the Lord. He
was willing to take the lowest place.
Look at our Lord Jesus. If we were to define brokenness as
sinfulness, we could in no sense say that Jesus was broken. But come back again to Ps. 34:18, "The Lord
is near to them who are of a broken heart and saves such as be of a contrite
spirit." Was there a brokenness in
Jesus? Yes, it was in His attitude
toward His Father. We are going to come
back to this later, but for now just consider this idea of taking the lowest
place. Is that not what Jesus did again
and again? We see it in John 13. Let's read John 13:1-5...
Now
before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that
He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were
in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil
having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray
Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and
that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid
aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured
water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with
the towel with which He was girded.
Jesus had every right to require
that His disciples wash His feet. After
all, He was the master. Washing feet was
slave work, certainly not the responsibility of the master. What would people think, if they saw Jesus
stooping down and washing the feet of such men?
Peter would deny Him. Judas would
betray Him. Nevertheless, because Jesus
was absolutely secure in His relationship with His Father, He was able to take
the lowest place. It didn't matter what
anyone else thought. Jesus wasn't
concerned that everyone understand, because He was content with the knowledge
that His Father understood. He through
whom the entire universe was created was free to take the lowest place, to
stoop down and wash the feet of men who would soon forsake Him.
This attitude is summed up in that
passage that we read a week ago up in the mountains. Let's read it again -- Phil. 2:5-11...
Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God
also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of
those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
II. The Difficulty of Brokenness
So we have seen something of the way
of brokenness. It is the way of
lowliness. It is a willingness to take
the lowest place among people.
Brokenness before God is willing to forsake status and reputation in
order to draw close to the Lord Himself.
All of that is fine, but we must
acknowledge that the way of brokenness is extremely difficult for people like
us. Why is it so difficult? Because it's upside down. It doesn't make sense. Who wants broken merchandise? If given a choice between a nice guitar like
this and a broken guitar, who will choose the broken one? If you want to rise to the top, then you have
to work at it. Anyone can figure these
things out. We don't like people
tarnishing our reputation. Nor do we
want anyone telling us what to do.
Taking the lowest place likely means that we will get stepped on. That is not what dreams are made of.
This takes us back to those
Beatitudes we looked at last Saturday, doesn't it.
...Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
...Blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted.
...Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
...Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
...Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
...Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God.
...Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
...Blessed are they
which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
As Alex pointed out, they don't make
sense to the world. How can Jesus
pronounce a blessing on those who are poor in spirit and those who mourn? Man works so hard to get to the place where
there is no mourning, and he wants to take some pride in himself. How can Jesus possibly say that the blessing
is for those who are persecuted on account of righteousness? Surely persecution and blessing cannot go
together.
Let's consider a particular problem
that God's people faced. They don't know
the problem is coming, but the fact is they are in danger of being wiped out
from drought and famine. Of course, God,
having all knowledge of past, present, and future, knew perfectly well what was
going to happen. He knew the famine was
coming and exactly how severe it would be, that there would not be enough food
to eat in the land of Canaan. So what
would God do in order to preserve His people?
Remember that God not only has all knowledge, but He also wields
infinite power. So God raised up a
mighty ruler named Joseph. He was a
picture of the ultimate fighting machine.
He received the best education and grew up in a model family. When the proper time came, God raised up a
mighty army and put it under the command of this man Joseph. So when the famine came and Joseph and his
family ran out of food, they attacked Egypt and were victorious. Joseph subjected the Egyptians to his own
rule and brought his family down to enjoy the plentiful food supply.
What do you think of the story? It makes good fiction, but that's not what
happened. Only the names of Joseph and
Egypt have remain unchanged. You know
the truth of the story. Joseph was the
main human actor, but God did not put him in the model family and furnish him a
mighty army. What did God do? He watched, while Joseph's brothers sold him
into slavery, while Potiphar's wife lied about him and landed him in
prison. For 13 years the Lord stood by
and watched Joseph occupy the lowest place that could be imagined. When He raised Joseph up to be second in
command of Egypt, He took him straight from the prison.
Someone may object and say,
"But Joseph didn't have any choice in the matter. He didn't take the lowest place; it was
forced upon him." There is some
truth in that line of thinking, but it isn't the whole truth. There is absolutely no evidence that Joseph
despised his circumstances or fought for his rights. We read that when Joseph was in the house of
Potiphar, "The Lord was with him" (Gen. 39:3). While he was in the prison that same
statement appears again: "The Lord
was with him" (Gen. 39:21). We also
read that Joseph found favor in Potiphar's sight and served him (Gen.
39:4). The context indicates
that he did so willingly. While he was
in prison, Joseph was so unselfish and considerate of the prisoners that he
immediately noticed when one morning one of the prisoners was sad (Gen.
40:6). That is not the picture
of a man who was bitter at his circumstances, who harbored a grudge against his
brothers. Joseph was content where he
was, trusting the Lord. And the Lord was
faithful to him and to His people. When
God wanted to prepare a man for a mighty work, He set him in a lowly place
before he elevated him to greatness in the eyes of others. That's not the way we would have done it, but
it is clearly the way the Lord worked.
Let's look at those two great
passages in Isaiah. First, Isaiah
57:15, "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits
eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who
has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to
revive the heart of the contrite ones.'"
You would think that a great and mighty God would take notice of a man
who had achieved greatness by making a name for himself, but that is not the
case. Rather, He sets His heart on the
one who is humble and lowly. That is the
one the Lord will raise up. Then
Isaiah 66:1-2, "Thus says the LORD: 'Heaven is My throne, And
earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is
the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those
things exist,' Says the LORD. 'But on this one will I look: On him who is poor
and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.'" Again, the Lord doesn't poor out the blessing
of His presence on the one who does great things, even great religious things,
but upon the one who is poor and lowly, the one who willingly takes the lowest
place. Notice that the blessing isn't
for the one who masters the Word, but the one who trembles at the Word. The same truth is echoed by that verse we
know so well: "For You do not
desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt
offering. The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit. A broken and contrite
heart--These, O God, You will not despise" (Ps. 51:17).
Let's be honest. Brokenness is not something that naturally
appeals to us. Up until the time we meet
Jesus Christ, we know nothing of it. It
is foreign to us. The world around us
sees the path of lowliness as the way of stupidity, and when we forget our Lord
and yield to our flesh, we say, "Amen to that." To put it bluntly, we do not treasure
brokenness. We do not welcome
lowliness. Nevertheless, we cannot deny
the truth that the Lord is near to them who are of a broken heart.
III. The Glory of Brokenness
Let's look again at the words of our
Lord Jesus: Matt. 11:28-30, "Come
to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light." Yes, it is a heavy burden
to fight the path of lowliness, to always make sure we are intact and that
everyone around us sees us that way. But
Jesus has a better way, for He Himself is gentle and lowly in heart. He who took the lowest place offers to yoke
up with us, promising that His yoke is easy and His burden light. It's as if He is saying, "Come on. Get in here with me. I will show you how it's done."
It is from Jesus that we learn the
glory of brokenness. Yes, that's right,
the glory of brokenness. When I announce
the reference, a few of you will get it immediately. Let's read from John 12. Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time; soon
He will be crucified. Let's begin by
reading John 12:12-16...
The
next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that
Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to
meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of
the LORD!' The King of Israel!" 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young
donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt." 16 His disciples
did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then
they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done
these things to Him.
Even in this Jesus took the lowly
place. Kings of the world did not make
their triumphal entrance on a donkey's colt, but Jesus was content to fulfill
the prophecy of His Father. Now let's
drop down and read John 12:20-28...
Now
there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21
Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him,
saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip came and told Andrew,
and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying,
"The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves
his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for
eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there
My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 27 Now
My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'?
But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name."
The
hour had come for Jesus, the Son of Man, to be glorified. He is already in the royal city. Surely there is nothing left but for Jesus to
say the word and let the stirred-up crowd set Him on the throne. Instead of declaring such royal intentions,
Jesus began to speak about a kernel of wheat falling into the ground and
dying. To the worldling who is intent on
climbing to the top, Jesus just didn't get it.
He didn't answer when opportunity knocked. No, Jesus took the lowly place, the place of
brokenness. What clearer picture do we
need than of a seed falling to the ground and dying? Jesus was talking about Himself. This is what Paul was talking about, when he
said that Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a
cross. Though all eyes expected Him to
set up His throne, Jesus immediate-ly reminded them of why He came -- to die
for the glory of His Father. And that is
exactly what He expressed in the prayer He actually prayed: "Father, glorify thy name." This is the ultimate picture of brokenness,
and Jesus said that it was His glory.
In that same context, Jesus had
something to say about those who follow Him.
"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in
this world will keep it for eternal life."
Jesus is basically saying that those who follow Him will walk that same
glorious path of brokenness. Rather than
trying to preserve our life and avoid brokenness, we welcome it, for it is the
way of eternal life.
But how can this be? How can there truly be blessing in
brokenness? It's simple -- that's where
the Lord is. When we walk the path of
brokenness, we are sharing the yoke of Jesus.
When we come to God with a broken heart before Him, He is near to
us. Brothers and sisters, that's where
the blessing is. Jesus saw it
clearly. Regardless of what anyone said
or thought, He knew that the glory of His Father was all that mattered, because
the Father's glory was His glory. And so
it is with every child of God. His glory
is our glory. Yes, when the Lord is
glorified in our lives, we are glorified in Him. The more glory that comes to God, the more
glory that will be ours, even forever and ever.
A few months ago I read a sermon by
Charles Spurgeon. The title of his
message was "Preparation for Revival." In that sermon he makes the statement,
"I do fear that some of us never do go low enough to be blessed." Think about that concept -- going low enough
to be blessed. The trouble is that we
are often deceived into thinking we have to move up to get blessed. If we can just do a little better in the way
we treat others, if we can just be a bit more consistent in Bible study and
prayer... surely we will have the blessing of God. But Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As we read in Is. 66:2, "But on
this one will I look: On him who is poor
and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."
In his little book Personal
Revival, Stanley Voke reminds us that water always flows down to the lowest
place. That's why when a certain pastor
overflows the baptistry, it always ends up in the basement. Everyone knows that simply principle. Voke states simply that "like water,
God's love flows down to the lowest place" (p. 9). So when you take the lowest place, you are in
the perfect place to be flooded by God's love.
Over and over in his little book this same author speaks of coming to
"the sinner's place." When we
come to the place of repentance and brokenness, admitting our sin rather than
excusing it, we are in the place to receive God's blessing. In Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the
publican, which man went away blessed?
It as the publican, the one who was willing to come to the sinner's
place.
That doesn't mean that God wants us
to spend all our time mourning over our sin, not at all. Today many remind us on a regular basis of
the danger in focusing on our sin.
However, beware lest that emphasis lead us to believe that we don't need
to face our sin squarely and confess it honestly to God. That is a part of
brokenness. This is what it means to
walk in the light, as He is in the light (see I John 1:5-2:2). To live a life of continual brokenness is to
walk the road of glory, for that is where we meet our Lord.
Too often our goal is to get beyond
sin and having to confess it to the Lord.
I don't want to make light of I John 2:2, where John says, "These
things I have written unto you, that you sin not." Certainly, we want to avoid sin. However, we need to understand that even when
we sin less, that does not mean there is less need for brokenness. When we walk in the Lord's light, which
exposes our sin, we will see ourselves more and more clearly. And when we do, we find ourselves coming back
"to the sinner's place" again and again. Praise God that He meets us there and raises
us up. But if we rarely get there, we
will miss the blessing of His glorious presence.
Conclusion
I told you Wednesday evening that I
would be preaching on revival this morning.
Some of you are wondering why I didn't.
The truth is, that is exactly what I am preaching. Apart from brokenness there will be no
revival in the church, in your life, or in my life. As it has been observed many times, the way
up is down. "Whosoever shall exalt
himself shall be humbled, and whosoever shall humble himself shall be
exalted."
So am I saying that we need a good
dose of brokenness? No, I am not saying
it, I am shouting it. It is not some
great sin that keeps us from brokenness; it is the lack of consciousness of
sin. But most of us are quick to say,
"I know that my sin is great."
If so, what is your sin? There is
a real difference between admitting to great sin and getting before God and
confessing sin, no matter how small it is.
I have a dear brother whom I have
seen broken before God. On a few
occasions I have heard him say, "I need God to break me again." If this message has a title, that's it --
"Lord, break me." Of course,
we must understand that we have a role to play.
There is no true brokenness without a change of attitude on the
inside. But with all my lack of wisdom,
I know this brokenness before God is not something I can work up. I must cry out to God, "Lord, break
me." Because He loves me and wants
to bless me more and more with His glorious presence, I believe He will do
that.
We have talked about the power of
the Spirit. Brothers and sisters, it is
the Spirit who ministers to us the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and that is
what we are talking about this morning.
We cannot separate the work of the Spirit from the grace of Jesus.
In a moment we are going to sing
that song that is familiar to most of us.
I learned it like this...
Spirit of the living
God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living
God, fall fresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold
me, fill me.
Spirit of the living
God, fall fresh on me.
However,
in our hymnals that one line is different, reading... "melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me." I have often
wondered why the difference. I found my
answer the other day. The author of a
blog told of his visit with the son of the song's author, Dan Iverson. He related that Bill Iverson, pastor and son
of the author, explained that the original words were "break me, melt me,
mold me, fill me." Concerning the
change, he was quoted as saying, "If you are broken, you don't have to ask
to be used. God delights to use broken
people. That's the only way to be
filled, and it's the only way to become usable." No one seems to know why the change from
"break me" to "use me," but I suspect it is because of our
resistance to the idea of brokenness.
But praise God, He does indeed delight to use broken people. May He so delight in breaking us and using us
for His glory.
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