Your Brokenness

Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

I want to just say I've really, really enjoyed sharing a series with my dad.

And so the title of the series is that Jesus is in the center.

And then each week it's been your dot dot dot.

So it was first your stress, then your prayer.

This week is your brokenness.

Jesus is in the center of your brokenness.

And when Bridget and I we first got married, I didn't have a house, but I had a small fishing cabin.

I had my priorities right.

So I had a small fishing cabin in East Texas, and I would go often.

And so I would go to this fishing cabin.

Well, Bridget and I got married, and it was time to not leave it as just a man cave.

And so we started doing a lot of DIY to it to fix it up, to make it a little bit nicer.

And so we were fixing it up.

My grandpa also had a fishing cabin right next to mine.

And so we would see each other a lot.

And so there was this one particular time that we were out there and we were going to do a little renovation and remodel the bathroom.

Now it's only a 500 square foot cabin.

It's one room.

When I say one room, not one bedroom, just one room.

The whole thing is just one room and one bathroom.

And so we were fixing the bathroom up, and so we were changing the toilet.

Sounds like an easy enough task, right?

So here we were fixing the toilet, and then we had to do something on the main water line.

And so I was working on it the best I possibly could until then my grandpa said, let me try.

So then he tried, which then I heard a large snap.

And then it followed by something he said, and he said, Oh, now that needed to be broken.

I thought it was perfectly fine as it was.

What do you mean that needed to be broken?

He said, Oh, yeah, no, that you see that needed to be broken.

And what he meant is that there was something wrong in the way it was built, and so therefore it needed to be broken because then that gives us the opportunity to build it right.

There was something wrong with the integrity of how it currently was, and so that needed to be broken so that it could then be repaired the way that it should be.

Now, honestly, I didn't think it needed to be broken all that much.

And initially, it didn't feel good that it was broken, and I thought this is gonna cost more money, this would be more time, more energy, more effort.

I thought of all the bad reasons why I didn't think that this was a great idea, that this pipe just broke.

But he said, This is this is great.

Now, since then, uh my grandpa he lives with us.

We do a lot of projects together.

I love doing projects with him, and I have heard him say this term this phrase many times.

We were actually doing something on the same fishing cabin and fixing the floors when one of the main peers gave out and the floor collapsed.

And guess what?

For some reason that needed to be broken.

It's amazing.

And since then, I've now adopted this phrase, and now Bridget has heard me many times say, Oh yeah, now that needed to be broken.

And sometimes we would rather not to be broken.

And so the first point of today's message is our brokenness.

Our brokenness.

And we will be looking at how our brokenness, and so in that there are things about ourselves, things in us that need to be broken.

Not all brokenness is a bad thing.

Sometimes, whenever we experience something that's broken, we immediately think the same way I did.

This is gonna be more time, more energy, this is bad.

How in the world, like, come on.

But not everything that breaks in our life is actually a bad thing.

And there could be a chance that God's actually using it to break something in us.

Potentially, our will needs to be broken, our pride needs to be broken, our strongholds need to be broken, and so God can actually use brokenness in order to work something out of us.

I wonder if at times something breaks in us of our pride or something, and Jesus says, Oh yeah, now that needed to be broken.

Now, in the American Christian society, most times when we experience something broken, we blame the devil.

Anything that breaks, it must be the devil's fault.

I got a flat tire, devil did it.

I just had something bad just happened.

I forgot my lunch today, devil did it.

Devil didn't distracted me.

Yeah, the enemy did it.

Obviously, there's no way that would have happened because I'm very, very smart, and then the enemy would have done that.

So anything bad that happens, we assume it's the enemy.

But is there a chance that some of it's actually God?

And Jesus is right there in the center, and he's trying to teach us something out of that.

So that's what we will be looking at today.

And if we can realize that Jesus is in the center, he's in the center of our circumstance, he's in the center of our brokenness, then we could see that maybe we should look at this in a different perspective.

Maybe we should be saying, Lord, is there something you're trying to teach me right now in this brokenness?

Is there something going on right now that I need to know through this?

When Jesus was flipping tables in the temple, things broke.

But guess what?

That's because things needed to break.

It's like my grandpa said, that needed to be broken.

So that it could get better, and so therefore, God can sometimes break things in our lives so that we can get better.

So that's what we'll be looking at.

And in doing so, we are going to be looking at Hebrews 12, starting in verse 5.

Now, this is what God says is encouraging.

Meaning, this is God's way of putting courage in us.

So wait until you see.

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children, he said.

So this is God encouraging us.

My child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline, and don't give up when he corrects you.

For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one as he accepts as his child.

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children.

Whoever heard of a child who is never disciplined by his father, if God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and not really his children at all.

Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the father of our spirits and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how.

Some of us wish that they knew how to even better.

But luckily, God does.

It says, but God disciplined in God, but God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening.

It's painful, but afterward, there are there will be a peaceful harvest right living for those who are trained in this way.

Sometimes we can go through difficult times.

Sometimes it feels like, God, why are you doing this to me?

This isn't fair.

Why?

You know I love you, so why would you do this?

And he's telling us it could actually be a form of love so that you can experience a better lifestyle and a better life in the end.

And so sometimes he's actually working things out of us because it needed to be broken, so that he can make you all that he's called you to be.

Otherwise, you may be limiting yourself of who you are called to be.

Now, all throughout scripture, Jesus and God the Father are referred to as the rock, the cornerstone, the stone.

And so we're gonna look at a scripture about that.

And um, even David in the Old Testament said that uh, Lord, you are my rock and my shelter.

But and then Matthew 21, starting in verse 42, it says, The stone which the Lord which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Then it says in 44, and whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

We can either fall on the rock, which is Jesus, and be broken.

But when we do that, it actually allows him to heal us in such a way.

I think my parents knew this scripture well because I remember there was this time that I had done something I should not have.

Surprise, there was more than one time, but there was one specific time that stands out to me that I had done something that I should not have done.

And I don't know if they use this as a tactic to get all of it out of me of what all I did, or if they actually knew what I did.

But I remember my parents saying, Okay, James, we know what you did was wrong.

And if you just tell us the truth, the consequences will be less than if you lie to us.

It was kind of like, listen, if you will just fall on the rock, the consequence then you'll just be broken, but you don't want to be crushed.

And so it was this way of saying, I know what you did is wrong, but now do the right thing and tell the truth.

And so there are times that this happens that we can actually have a choice to are we going to go and humble ourselves and fall on the rock and say, Jesus, help me.

I know I'm flawed, I know I messed up, but Lord, I am flawed and I need your help.

Please help me.

And we have that opportunity now, just in case some of you are like, just doesn't apply to me.

I've got another scripture for you.

First John 1, verse 8.

1 John 1:8

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have no if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

So all of us, including myself, quite often still mess up.

And it's like my grandfather said, that needed to be broken.

I need to be broken.

I need to go to the Lord and repent for what I've done because it is not what he has for me in the end.

I have to start working those things out of me.

So I have another question.

How do you handle your brokenness?

And in doing so, we can look at David.

Now, David went through a lot of broken times, a lot of broken moments, but there's this one particular time we're gonna look at.

His son Absalom tries to take over the kingdom in a not so good way, and he is very feeling very broken.

He is now walking through a valley with him and all of his mighty men army that is with him.

This would be like the president of the United States walking through a valley surrounded by a bunch of Marines.

And you're like, you don't want to mess with those people.

But there was this one crazy nut named Shimei that was there.

Shimei was walking along the side of them, cursing King David, throwing rocks at him, kicking up dust at him, and yelling at him.

I just don't think that's a wise thing to do.

So let's see how David responded, though.

So it's talking about Shimei.

Shemiah, he threw stones, uh, verse 6.

Uh he threw stones at the king and the king's officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him.

Then in verse 9, it's uh one of David's mighty men says, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?

Then he goes on to say, Let me go over and cut off his head.

Problem solved.

I can that's a whole new way of saying, put a sock in it.

Like you can I can make him be quiet.

I know how.

David, just let me go put him.

You know, that's it.

And David had the full ability, legally, and everything, to say, Y'all fit this head.

But this is how David responded leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it.

I don't know if we always think that way.

And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.

So David and his men continued down the road in Shimei kept pe kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.

Another translation, uh, David says, Perhaps the Lord has sent him to humble me.

Let's put that in today's terms.

So let's say we leave church today, we hop, we're hopping on the highway, and all of a sudden somebody cuts you off.

Then they start honking their horn, and then they're throwing inappropriate sign language at you.

Do we have the tendency to say, well, praise the Lord?

Maybe he sent him here for me, just to work out this pride that I've been struggling with lately.

Glory to God.

Thank you for the blessings.

That's not normally how we respond.

Instead, we're like, oh no, you didn't.

I'll show you.

So every time that we're wronged, is it actually that God may be using that circumstance?

And now I do want to clarify, sometimes God may be using that circumstance, and then sometimes it is the enemy, and then sometimes it's just because we live in a fallen world.

But let's say this is happening, and all of a sudden, what is our tendency?

Oh no, you didn't.

I'll show you, I'll do this.

Or Satan, you're evil, you're bad, it's always the devil's fault.

But maybe God's actually using that circumstance to work something out of us.

Maybe that pride that rises up, it's something like, oh, that needed to be broken.

Maybe whenever we get so wronged, we can look at it knowing that Jesus is in the sinner and say, Lord, what are you doing in this certain in this circumstance?

What are you trying to get me to get out of this?

And the reason why he's doing it is so that he can work things out of us so that we can be more Christ-like.

And so this is what's happening.

And so here's David, like, well, a blessing.

Perhaps the Lord will bless me because I responded well.

Look at that.

And so this is an opportunity that we have.

So point number one was our broken, no, yeah, our brokenness.

This point number two is Jesus restores our brokenness.

Jesus restores our brokenness.

Now, when I was a kid, I remember this story quite well.

So my dad worked with somebody, and it's just somebody with kind of a he's a big guy, big personality.

He only has one like voice, and it is not a library, quiet voice.

It is only loud coach voice.

And so he's just kind of, if whenever he's in the room, his presence is made known, no matter where he is.

And so he's just kind of a big guy, and now this is also a time that like early 90s, probably, that no iPhones, technology wasn't all that it is now.

And so this guy was over at his desk, and all of a sudden my dad is down the hall, and he can hear him saying, Oh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what happened what happened now?

What happened?

And all of a sudden he comes running over to my dad's office and says, I done did it now.

I did it.

It it blew up, it just blew up.

And he said, My dad said, What are you talking about?

He says, My computer.

I didn't do anything, it just blew up.

I didn't touch it.

I promise it's not my fault.

I didn't do anything all by itself.

It just blew up.

He said, thousands of little pieces all over.

So my dad was like, I have to go see this.

Like, this computer that blew up.

So my dad walks over there, and guess what?

Some of you might know the little screensaver with the fireworks.

I told you, I told you it blew up.

I didn't touch it, I didn't do anything, it just blew up all on its own.

So my dad's like, okay.

He goes over, he touches the mouse, and it comes back on.

What would you do?

How'd you do that?

I share that story to tell you that sometimes our brokenness isn't as bad as we think it is.

We oftentimes make our brokenness as it the most extreme doom and gloom, worst thing that could possibly ever happen.

I can't believe it.

Look how bad it is.

And sometimes God just says, I got it.

Why are you stressing out so much?

Why are you worried so much?

You know I'm with you.

You know what it is?

It just the computer fell asleep.

That's all it is.

It could be something that small that sometimes we get so worked up.

Now, with this, uh I want to share the heart and the posture, because Jesus restores our brokenness, that we are to go to the Lord.

So in Psalm 51, verse 17, it says, The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

Psalms 51:17

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, oh God.

God will not reject you when you come to him with a broken heart.

When you need him, when you're not when you're feeling broken, run to Jesus.

He's the only one that can be there to help.

Otherwise, we run to all the thing, all the things in the world, all of the little coping methods, all of these things, they can't help you.

We need Jesus.

And guess what?

It's like currency to Jesus.

He loves it when we come with a repentant, broken heart and says, Come on in, son.

Come on in, daughter.

I've got you.

This is it.

We I've got you.

So not last week, the week before I I spoke and I talked about Peter.

And I shared how Peter was given a task, and that was to stay up and pray.

Peter did not do it.

Instead, he fell asleep when Jesus told him to pray three times.

Then Jesus, Jesus uh tells him, You're going to do it, but then he did do it, and Peter ended up denying Jesus three times.

So now I'm going to pick up on that story.

And so this is Jesus now talking to Peter.

Jesus then died, was resurrected on the third day, and then he goes and he catches a bunch of fish, 153 fish, and he feeds everyone, and then he pulls Peter aside and has this conversation with him.

In John 21, starting in verse 15, it says, So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Feed my lambs.

He said to him again, a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Tend my sheep.

He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know all things.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.

So in looking at this full picture, Peter had failed Jesus.

He fell asleep on him three times, he denied him three times, and now Jesus is asking him, Do you love me three times?

I think that this was such a broken moment for Peter.

Here he is, he knows he has failed Jesus, and he's sitting in front of Jesus, his resurrected savior, his resurrected Lord, and he's sitting there.

And Jesus is asking him, Do you love me?

Do you love me?

And he asked him three times, and each time he says, To feed my sheep, to tend my flock.

And so what I think happened is Peter's at his lowest low.

And all of a sudden, Jesus is using that time to remind him, hey, I know you still love me.

I know you denied me three times, therefore I'm gonna ask you three times.

Do you love me?

And he used that time to actually then build him up because he knew that he was called to something so much greater.

He was called to be this great disciple, this great person, this great man of God, but at this point he was at his lowest low.

And Jesus is then building him up and reminding him, hey, I recognize what you did.

And I still love you, but and do you still love me?

And reminding him of that because Peter had this great calling, this great purpose on his life, and he didn't want his brokenness to hold him back.

But it's almost like when breaking a bone that then you get a splint that you have to get your splint to be Jesus to so that it grows in the right direction.

Well, in the same way, he then says, Peter, come with me.

I'm with you.

I got

You.

I know that you love me because he had this great calling and this great purpose in his life.

Now I wonder how many of us have this great calling, this great purpose in our life, but we might be wallowing in our brokenness so much that we're not even hearing Jesus, correcting us like the loving Father, saying, Do you love me?

And yet building him up in his brokenness to say, I know, you're still here.

Everything's okay.

Because guess what?

Not long after this, Peter then preaches at Pentecost, and 3,000 people got saved.

So here Jesus is actually building him up, getting him prepared for the 3,000 people that need this message and saying, Do you love me?

Do you love me?

God can use our brokenness to restore us, to build us up so that we will be ready for the full calling and purpose that he has for us.

So this is what God does for us.

So point number three is his brokenness.

His brokenness.

I know here at the South Lake campus, Pastor Ben mentioned this during communion, but how Jesus' body was broken for us.

In 1 Corinthians 11, verse 24, it says uh it's talking about communion.

1 Corinthians 11:24

It's also called the Lord's Supper.

And so here he is, he's talking about it, and this is what Jesus says.

Take, eat.

This is my body which is broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Now, I do want to give one point of clarification.

None of Jesus' bones were broken, but his body was broken.

Because none of his bones were broken, because it actually fulfilled Old Testament prophecy that not one bone would be broken.

And so that happens three times in Old Testament prophecy that not one of his bones would be broken.

And so even those three people hanging on the cross, Jesus is one of them.

These soldiers go to break the legs of all of them, and they break the legs of the other two, but when they came to Jesus, they noticed that he was already dead, so instead they stabbed him with a spear, which also fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

And so Jesus, none of his bones were broken, which fulfilled the prophecy, but he was broken.

His body was broken.

And when Jesus cries out, My Lord, my Lord, why have you forsaken me?

Relationship, community, communion with him and God the Father was broken.

It was broken, though, so that that relationship between you and God will never have to be broken.

But he was broken so that we don't have to live in a broken state anymore.

He was broken, his body was broken, and that relationship that was that broke during the fall was completely healed in that time.

So now we can have a perfect relationship through Jesus Christ with God.

That's amazing.

Now, this is an amazing thing that happens that Jesus Christ actually humbled himself to the point of death.

And in Philippians says this, and being found in the parents as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, 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.

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God the Father, this is the God that we get to serve.

And this is the same God that understands your brokenness in a whole way.

That He understands He's there with us.

And He wants to build us up through our brokenness so that we can reach our full calling and purpose through Him.

Now, when I was in youth group here at Gateway, this is many years ago, and so I was in youth group and I had heard the Bible many times.

Obviously, my dad's a pastor.

And so I knew the Bible.

I knew many scriptures.

I could in uh elementary, we played that little sword game where you have to say a thing and hurry up and find it.

I could do that.

So I knew all of the stuff, and yet I was still one of the most stubborn people you would come across.

Strong-willed.

Stubborn.

So I was very, very stubborn and very strong-willed, and I was still living fully, fully from myself.

And I my relationship with my parents just wasn't that great.

My relationship with my siblings wasn't that great.

So I go off to this youth camp, and I remember in that time so clearly, God saying, Yes, but now will you make me Lord of your life?

And it was that time where I truly went and fell on the rock and was broken, so that he could restore me.

And now it's not that that day I was perfect after that, surprising.

But guess what?

There's been this ongoing breaking to in order to make me more and more Christ-like.

And so this has happened.

So then I come back from camp, saved, and I am way different with my parents, with everyone.

And so it was after a couple of weeks, my dad said, Hey, I mean, we all love it, but what's what's going on?

What happened to you?

I said, Oh, I got saved.

And he was like, You weren't gonna tell us?

I said, I thought you would notice.

You know, and the thing is, because I had fallen on the rock, I'm a different person.

I allowed the falling on the rock to break me and to break my will and to break my pride so that he could then build me up so that I can continue to be more and more Christ-like.

It's like my grandpa said, that needed to be broken.

My question for us today is what is in us that needs to be broken?

What is it in us that is holding us back from reaching all of our potential and all of our that God has for us, all of our calling, that we're just hanging on to.

And we say that does not need to be broken.

But God's saying, I'm trying to break it, not to hurt you, because I love you, so that you can be more Christ-like, so that you can walk with me in a greater way.

That's what He does for us.

So that I just want to take a moment and pray with all of us.

So if you could just bow your heads and close your eyes, and we do this every single week, and we ask the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?

Lord, is there any brokenness that you need to heal in our lives?

God, is there anything that you still want broken so that you can heal it in such a way to make us better, stronger?

Lord, is there something in our integrity that you need to shape, you need to strengthen?

God, how do we handle our brokenness now?

Do we run to you, humble ourselves?

Lord, I pray for every single heart and mind that you would build them up, that you would restore them wholeheartedly in everything they're doing.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Thanks for joining us today.

If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com.

We hope you have a great week.