“The Blessing of Broken Things”

 

Text:     Gen.32: 24-32

Intro.: One of the wonderful things about our God is that He is able to use broken things.  He is able to take our broken lives, put the pieces back together, and use us for His honor and glory. PTL!  This great truth is brought out in various places in the scriptures to encourage and remind us that broken things are not “useless” things, but “priceless” things in the hands of God.  In fact, God cannot really use any man until he is broken.  We see this in the life of Jacob, and in the life of Paul.  Paul found that there were blessings in buffetings, for when he was weak then he was strong (2 Cor.12: 7-10).  Because Paul was a “broken man,” God was able to use him in a great way.  Just like a horse is useless to his owner until he’s broken, so too man is useless to God until he’s broken.  Let’s look at some “broken” things that resulted in great blessings.

 

A)                Broken Saints: (Gen.32: 24-32)

1)                  Up to this point in Jacob’s life, he was doing things his own way.

2)                  He had finally met his match in Uncle Laban, and in frustration and desperation was heading back home.

3)                  He is met by the angel of the Lord, who wrestles with him.

4)                  Jacob asks for a blessing and God “breaks” him by putting his hip out of joint.

5)                  Sometimes God has to “break” you in order to “bless” you!

6)                  How about you?  Are you still trying to do things your own way?  Or have you been “broken?” (That is, are you yielded, submitted to God?)

 

B)                 Broken Spirits: (Ps.51: 17)

1)                  David knew that the sacrifices of the Law could not take away his sin, or else he would gladly have offered them (Mic.6: 6-8).

2)                  David knew the sacrifices that God would desire was a broken spirit and a broken heart, not broken in despair, but broken in humiliation and sorrow for sin.  A tender heart, like Josiah’s, that trembles at the Word!

3)                  What pleased God was not the feeding of the beast, but killing it.  So it is not the pampering of the flesh, but the mortifying of it, that God will accept.

4)                  Men despise “broken” things, but God does not.

5)                  He despised the sacrifice of torn and broken beasts, but He’ll not despise a torn and broken heart.

6)                  The proud Pharisee despised the brokenhearted Publican, but God didn’t.

7)                  When Nathan came into David and said, “Thou art the man,” David flung himself in repentance and remorse at God’s feet.  Nathan said, “God hath put away thy sin” - Total Grace! - no lamb, no ox, no sin offering, burnt offering, trespass offering - Just the Word of God!

8)                  David learned that day what all of us need to learn here, what God really wants from us is a broken heart and spirit!

 

C)                                                                                Broken Sacrifices: (Mk.14: 3-9; Jn.12:1- 8)   

1)                  Jn.11: 1-2 identifies her as Mary of Bethany (sister to Martha and Lazarus).

                                                                            (1)

2)                  Mary is found 3 times in the gospels and each time she’s at the feet of Jesus (Lk.10: 38-42; Jn.11: 31-32; 12: 1-8).

3)                  Therefore the broken box of ointment speaks of adoration and worship.  A missing element in Christianity today!

4)                  It was costly (300 pence = a year’s salary).  Our worship will cost us something too.

5)                  Her act of worship had several consequences:

A)                Her broken box of ointment filled the house with its fragrance.  There will always be a “spiritual fragrance” in the home where Jesus Christ is loved and worshiped.

B)                 She faced criticism for being so sacrificial - We will be too if we worship and adore our Saviour.  They said it was a “waste.”  People will say you waste your time going to church, you give too much, you witness too much, read your Bible too much, pray too much!  But it seems like no sacrifice at all to those who love Christ!

C)                She received Christ’s blessing and approval. 

6)                  How about you?  Offered any broken sacrifices lately?

 

D)                Broken Saviour: (1 Cor.11: 23-24)

1)                  Christ’s body was broken for us.

2)                  This was illustrated by the rending of the veil of the temple which typified His flesh (Heb.10: 20).

3)                  How badly was His body broken?

A)                Beaten so badly He didn’t look human (Is.50: 6; 52: 14)

B)                 Scourged with a cat-o-nine tails - “The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows” (Ps.129: 3). All the flesh would be torn off.  Ofttimes you could see their internal organs, intestines sometimes fell out!

C)                They pierced His hands, feet and side.

D)                Is.53: 5 says that He was “wounded” - pierced through. And “bruised” - “crushed under the weight of a burden.”  What burden?  The iniquity of us all!  “Chastisement” and “stripes” - He took our whipping and our stripes that we might experience peace (Ro.5: 1) and healing (forgiveness of sin).

E)                 Under the Law the sheep died for the shepherd; but under grace the Good Shepherd died for the sheep! PTL!

 

E)                 Broken Sinners: (Lk.15: 11-22)

1)                  The Prodigal son wanted his own way and so he took his inheritance from his father early and went out and wasted it in riotous living. 

2)                  All of us have in some sense done the very same thing.  We all had sinned and come short of the glory of God and were living in the “hog pen” of sin.

3)                  The Prodigal “came to himself” - That is he fell under conviction and repented of his sin.  As a result he headed back to the father.  We too must be broken by conviction and repent of our sin.

4)                  He found restoration, forgiveness, and acceptance from his father.  We too shall receive the same if we come to God as a broken sinner and place our faith in the Lord